The month of March brings us to India. I taught a chai making classes.
Chai tea latte originated in India. In India, the word chai translates to “tea.”
Asking for a chai tea latte is technically saying “tea tea latte.”
I am working on creating the my perfect chai. I bought a spice with these 12 spices...
I am working on the flavor profiles and how these spices work together.
Cinnamon -A sweet and woody flavor, with slight citrusy notes, and its spicy taste is often likened to the powerful punch of cloves.
Ginger - There is no flavor in the world quite like that of ginger. It is hot, zesty and biting yet sweet and warm. It’s 's sweet, peppery and a bit floral, with a hint of citrus.
Red Chili Powder - is a red-colored blend of powdered spices. While it contains some cayenne pepper for heat, it also has spices such as cumin, garlic powder, oregano, and paprika. The ratio is one part cayenne to seven parts other spices, depending on the blend.
Star Anise - Star anise is a distinctive looking spice that resembles a small rust-colored star. It usually has between 6 to 8 points, each point containing a small seed that is the flavor epicenter. The spice gives a sweet, licorice-y flavor to dishes similar to clove and aniseed.
Green Cardamom Pods - also known as “true cardamom,” an herbal warmth like a fragrant cross between eucalyptus, mint, and pepper—more citrusy than fennel and sweeter than cumin. It is a well rounded spice- almost floral, with a smoky and earthy bite.
Garam Masala - will usually consist of- coriander, cumin, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon (or Cassia), and nutmeg
Pink Peppercorns- are spicy, dried berries possess a deeper, more rounded pepperiness, a peppery bite, but it's wrapped in a sweet fruity flavor reminiscent of a berry with an attitude. The heat blooms at the back of your throat.
Cloves are a pungent warm spice with an intense flavor and aroma. On the tongue, you'll detect sweetness, bitterness, and astringency (drying the mouth), with a noticeable amount of heat. Cloves play up the sweetness of the cinnamon and the spice of the pepper.
Fennel Seeds - The seeds have a light, sweet, anise-like taste, very similar to licorice, and are usually used to add a warm fragrance to various dishes.
Coriander -When left whole, coriander is as floral as cardamom—its flavor full of citrus and curry, light and sweet (the seeds are fun to crunch on, too). When ground, the seeds' roasted, nutty aromas come to the fore, though at the expense of all that lovely citrus.
Cumin -whole seeds and ground cumin can add nutty warmth, pepperiness and smokiness with a faintly musty aroma to all manner of dishes.
Nutmeg- Whole or ground, nutmeg tastes nutty, warm, and slightly sweet. It's reminiscent of clove and tobacco and can even have subtle citrusy notes.
Allspice - Five-spice powder is a blend of ground cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise, and Szechwan peppercorns.
I have this great mortar and pestle set where I can blend my chai spices.
I splurged and spent about $100 on this spice set, but now, 3 months later I am seeing it is on sale for $69.99. I wonder if it was marked up for Christmas. Oh well, even for $100 I love this Masala Dabba spice set.
I used basic Masala Chai spices for my first run at making chai.
This was so much fun!! Christmas day- gifts were open and now it was time to play with our "gifts", lol.
I added water and let it steep for 5 minutes.
-now after doing more research and watching YouTube videos, I am making my chai with all milk. It makes the masala chai so much richer and creamier.
I had so much fun making my own chai that I knew this would be perfect for my Passport to Tea 2023 classes!!
March 2023- It is Masala Chai time....
Make sure you do some shopping around on prices. I saw some tea sets that were $149 and some were as low as $36. Shop around.
I got this set as a birthday gift from my aunt. I love this set, it's beautiful.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1040444584/indian-tea-pot-tea-set-tea-kettle
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1040444584/indian-tea-pot-tea-set-tea-kettle
This tea pot is also from India.
All who come to the tea parties, get a passport and a stamp for their passport that represents that country.
Everyone was given a recipe card, a mortar and pestle set, and the option to make their chai any way they wanted.
I served a classic masala chai blend for the 3 tea parties. It was a big hit. I served it with Vitamin D cow's milk.
Below you can see me pouring the masala chai with milk into my fun tea pots from India.
I had such a great response for this class that I did three classes.
9 am I had 8 people
11 am I had 10 people
1 pm I had 4 people
My 9 am class does a great job of giving me feedback for my next class.
My mom said it was harder to crush the spices than I made it look, hahaha.
My mom said it was harder to crush the spices than I made it look, hahaha.
I blended my own chai and then made it for the class to try.
I steeped my spices in milk for 5 minutes and then strained it into another teapot to serve.
I found this set I loved and the price was even better than the other set I bought. I also thought I only had 6 cups and when I have parties I have up to 8 people, so I kind of needed another set, lol.
I was given some money for valentines day, so I purchased this fun set too.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1390990818/indian-tea-pot-tea-set-tea-kettle
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1390990818/indian-tea-pot-tea-set-tea-kettle
The 11 am class, was a full class. No one complained as they all squeezed around the table. Boy, I can not wait to have my own tea room!
At my second tea I made my chai blend with chili spice. A lot of people enjoyed it so much that they copied my recipe. Amy was NOT one of those people. It was too spicy for her.
I used Jaggery as my sugar for chai. In my research I found Jaggery is what they use as sugar in India.
Jaggary- a coarse dark brown sugar made in India by evaporation of the sap of palm trees
Unlike sugar, jaggery is very rich in minerals, predominantly iron with traces of other mineral salts. While most of the iron in it comes through its low processing, the other minerals come right from the sugar cane juice, since this juice does not undergo refining or bleaching of any kind. So, jaggery is a very good source of minerals for the body. In some cases, jaggery is less likely to give you acidity when compared to sugar.
I used these Assam black teas for the base of the chai teas. You need a strong black tea for the base of the masala chai.
I am ready for class three.
I think everyone had a great time making their own blends. Smelling and mixing and reading about the different spices and their benefits.
Here is my Masala Chai Blend... ( less the turmeric) It was sweet to taste and then you get that great heat in the back of your throat
