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If fusion is the buzzword, Chai Latte is the embodiment of it. What? Chai Latte? Yes, you heard that right. If you are an ardent beverage lover, and morning chai sets the tone of your day, then Chai Latte is your cup of tea. A fusion of sorts, this modern-day tea, lives up to your expectations of tea’s equivalent of a traditional Café Latte. The tea liquor is prepared by boiling whole sweet spices and adding maple syrup and of course, a black tea bag builds up the base for a strong and sweet masala chai. And the whipped frothy milk poured over liquor helps achieve the whole soul of the latte. Need we say anything about the ease of brewing this one?
Now let’s decode the word Latte before we go into the origin of the traditional caffé latte. The term latte comes from the Italian caffé latte, which means coffee and milk. This word was first used in English in 1867 by William Dean Howells in his essay, titled Italian Journeys, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. In Italy, caffè latte is almost always prepared at home, for breakfast only. Outside Italy, typically a caffè latte is prepared in a 240 ml glass or cup with one standard shot of espresso (either single of 30 ml or double of 60 ml) and filled with steamed milk, and a layer of about ½ inch thick foamed milk on the top. In the US, a latte is mostly heavily sweetened with 3% sugar or more.
According to Kenneth Davids, the editor and co-founder of Coffee Review Breakfast, drinks of this kind have existed in Europe for generations, but the commercial caffè version of this drink is an American invention. The French term Café au Lait was used in cafés in several countries in western continental Europe from 1900 onward, however, the term café crème was used in France for coffee with milk or cream. In Spanish, the term café con Leche meaning coffee with milk is used to denote a similar beverage which is served in a medium or large cup whereas the cortado, coffee with less milk is served in a small cup. The Chai Latte is an Indian version of caffé latte and has been derived from steeping black Assam tea in boiled whole milk in place of water.
Image: Shutterstock
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 10 minutes
Servings: 2
Ingredients
300 ml milk
200 ml water
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 cloves
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 black tea bag
Method:
1. In a saucepan, heat water and add the spices.
2. Bring it to a boil and whisk the spices in the water.
3. Once the water reaches a boil, turn off the stove and let the spices infuse well for 5 minutes.
4. Turn on the stove again and add the tea bag and maple syrup. Allow them to steep for 5 minutes and turn off the heat.
5. Remove the tea bags and strain the tea through a fine sieve.
6. Divide this mix between 2 mugs.
7. In another saucepan, heat the milk and pour it into a large vessel.
8. Blend the milk until it’s frothy.
9. Slowly add the warm, frothy milk to the tea.
10. Sprinkle the top of the chai latte with a pinch of cinnamon.
Optional: You can top it up with a dollop of cream.
Dear tea lovers, take a break from your regular milk tea and try out this rare, beautiful and simple concoction. It’s not as strong as your regular tea and can be sweeter due to maple syrup.
