Tea
Masala chai
Masala chai is black tea brewed with milk, sugar and spices such as cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.
What it means for a café
Sold either from a concentrate, which is fast and consistent, or brewed from leaf and spice, which is slower and better. Which one a café picks tells you most of what you need to know about how it trades speed against quality everywhere else.
This page describes masala chai in general. It is not a description of any particular chain’s recipe, and the photograph is not of any named company’s product.
- Spices
- Cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves
- Base
- Brewed from leaf, or a concentrate
- Caffeine
- From black tea, lower than coffee
More tea
Matcha latte
A matcha latte is powdered green tea whisked with water and combined with steamed milk, served hot or over ice.
Green tea
Green tea is tea made from unoxidised leaves, giving a lighter colour and a more vegetal flavour than black tea.
Iced tea
Iced tea is tea served chilled over ice, either brewed hot and cooled or brewed cold, and often sweetened or flavoured with fruit.
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