Masala Chai
Masala chai is less a tea than a method: strong black tea, almost always Assam CTC, simmered with milk, sugar, and a spice mix of cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, clove, and pepper. The leaf is a vehicle for body and caffeine, and the cup is defined by the spice balance and the decoction technique, not by terroir. There is no canonical recipe; every household has its own.
For the base, brisk CTC Assam is the right choice, not premium orthodox leaf, which is wasted under spice and milk. For the masala, whole spices you grind yourself beat a pre-mixed powder, with cardamom and fresh ginger doing most of the work and cinnamon, clove, and black pepper in support. Pre-sweetened instant chai latte powders are a separate product and should not be confused with the real preparation.
A pan-Indian household drink with endless regional and family variation rather than a single recipe. Ginger-forward (adrak) versions dominate in the north and in winter, while cardamom-forward (elaichi) styles appear elsewhere. The colonial-era expansion of Assam CTC production made strong, cheap black tea the universal base. What the West sells as chai is a flavor profile; in India it is simply how everyday tea is made.
Decoction method: simmer 1.5-2 g of CTC per cup in roughly equal parts water and milk with crushed spices and sugar, 4-6 minutes at a low boil, then strain. This is stronger and longer than Western steeping, and the milk and sugar are part of the recipe rather than additions. A lighter version steeps strong spiced tea in water first, then adds hot milk.
Loose spiced-blend chai runs €8-20 (about $9-22) per 100 g, with most of the cost in spice quality. Buying CTC Assam and whole spices separately is cheaper and usually better.
Prices reviewed June 2026
Assam
The CTC base, unspiced; tasting it alone shows what the spices and milk are built on.
Chai Latte
The sweetened café and powder version; the comparison separates a simmered decoction from a milk-and-syrup drink.
Ginger
The single spice that most defines a ginger-forward chai; drinking it solo clarifies its role in the blend.
English Breakfast
Another milk-forward black, but a steeped blend rather than a simmered, spiced decoction.
Chai simply means tea in Hindi, descended from the Chinese cha, so chai tea is literally tea tea. The spiced milk preparation is properly masala chai, and Western sweet syrups cemented chai as a flavor name rather than the generic word it remains at the source.