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Nothing beats a hot cup of masala chai on a chilly winter morning or evening. It is the perfect drink that satisfies your body and soul. The blend of warm spices like cardamom, ginger, star anise, and cinnamon with milk is heavenly. You simply won't stop at just one cup. The drink is so popular that you will find it on every street in India and is often paired with biscuits, rusk, and Indian doughnuts.
It is the perfect way to kickstart your mornings with or to relax after a long day but to make sure you get the most delicious cup of masala chai, you need to avoid these common brewing mistakes.
Not Using Fresh Tea Leaves
This applies to most of the food or drinks that you prepare in your kitchen. Always make sure that you use fresh leaves and not old stale leaves as using fresher leaves will provide you with an aromatic and flavourful tea that packs a lot of taste while also having the colour that your tea is supposed to have.
Using old tea leaves will most likely lead to loss of flavour, aroma, and colour. So, keep this in mind whenever you brew your next masala chai.
Improper Storage Of Tea Leaves
Another important step that you need to take regarding the tea leaves is that they are quite delicate and sensitive. Storing or keeping tea leaves with your other ingredients or spices will allow the leaves to retain and absorb the flavour and aroma of other ingredients quickly which ultimately ruins the true essence of chai.
Therefore, you must take care of your tea leaves and make sure you store them in an airtight container to preserve their freshness and quality.
Using Raw Milk To Make Tea
Milk masala chai is the more popular variety when compared to the black version and so if you are planning to make the milk masala chai, keep it in mind to always boil your milk first and then let it cool down for a bit before you start making your masala chai.
This is a crucial step since using raw milk directly could end up curdling it and ruining your entire chai in the process.
Boiling Tea Leaves
Just like with milk masala chai, you don't have to boil your tea leaves along with the rest of the beverage. In this case, simply boil the water along with your preferred spices but without the leaves. Take the water off the heat and then add the leaves to the mix. Close the lid and then let the tea leaves infuse their flavour and aroma for around 5 minutes.
Wrong Timing
If you are using whole spices then you simply need to boil them along with water or milk. But if you are using a masala chai powder or masala then you have to wait until the end to add it along with the tea leaves. Once added, let it infuse for 5 minutes with the tea leaves for the best flavour and aroma.
