What is Tea Masala (Chai Masala)?

Tea masala is a blend of spices used to brew Masala Tea (Masala Chai). The word Chai means tea in Swahili and several other languages.

The tea is brewed with black tea, milk and a blend of spices, either whole or ground.

The blend of spices vary from brand to brand and individual to individual but usually contains the following ingredients: ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and black peppercorns.

Other spices that may be added are: nutmeg, mace, saffron, fennel seeds or star anise.

The spices may be added whole, to the tea being brewed or mixed and ground and used in powdered form.

I always find that the commercial brands of tea masala are never balanced. For example the suraj tea masala that I’m using right now seems to have too much cinnamon. I can’t taste the other ingredients. It’s always better to make your own, if you can.

Here are the ingredients in two of the Tea Masala I have in my pantry right now:

Suraj Tea Masala:

Cinnamon, Ginger (contains sulphites), Black Pepper, Cloves and Cardamom.

Tropical Heat Tea Masala

Ginger, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Cloves, Black Pepper and Nutmeg

Here is a homemade recipe for tea masala.

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