Indian Spice Tea

5 from 5 votes

Enjoy a smooth and creamy Indian Spice Tea with its wonderful mixture of aromatic warm spices brewed with loose black tea leaves.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Course: Tea

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Indian Chai, Indian Spice Tea

Servings: servings

Calories: 319kcal

Author: Bernice

Heat a heavy pan.
Place cinnamon sticks in a hot pan and cook for a couple of minutes to release its flavors.
Add remaining spices. The Greend Cardamom Pods can "pop" depending upon how hot the pan is. If this happens, reduce the heat.
Be careful that you do not burn the spices. They are ready based upon the aroma.
Place spices into a mortar and pestle to crush them. Try to crush the cinnamon into several smaller pieces. The remaining spices it can be easier to crush them separately.

In a small saucepan, add water, loose tea and prepared spices.
Bring to a boil and then simmer on medium-low for 10-minutes.
Look for a rich color before adding the milk.
If you do a taste test at this point it should be strong with spices and tea. But do not be concerned.
After you are happy with the color, add the milk and bring it back to a soft boil for a minute being careful to not let the milk boil over the pan.
Prepare a tea pot by pouring hot water into the pot to rinse it and heat it for the hot Tea. Repeat with the tea mugs.
When ready to serve the tea, strain the loose tea and spices using a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer. You cannot use a regular tea strainer because the prepared spices can seep through into your tea pot.
Pour tea into the prepared tea pot and then into the tea mugs.
Clean the mortar and pestle with a wet damp cloth and dry.

Calories are approximate depending upon serving size and ingredients.

Tips

Adding sweetener is a personal choice and best left up to each person.
The type of milk you add is important to make a creamier Tea.
I have experimented with different milks from light cream, half and half, 2% milk and skim milk. Light cream or half and half are the best because the Tea is creamier. Skim milk leads to a thinner less flavorful Tea.