This Indian spiced tea recipe is my latest obsession! It's a healthy, sweet, and creamy indulgence that I've had on repeat all winter. I love grabbing a steamy mug before settling onto the couch after a long day.
The fact that this vegan masala chai is a fabulous replacement for dessert when I'm craving sweets or snacks that are less nutritious makes it all the more desirable.
Believe me; it's been grand testing and retesting the proportions of tea leaves, chai masala powder, and macadamia milk to get this cozy recipe just right.
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🏆 Top tip
Rich and creamy homemade nut milk will make a huge difference in this vegan chai. My favorite is macadamia, but homemade almond milk is luscious as well.
⭐ Why it works
- Quick and easy
- Authentic Indian spices
- Make it decaf or regular
- Vegan
- Naturally sweetened or sugar-free
📋 Ingredients
- Water - filtered or bottled spring water.
- Black tea - loose leaf Darjeeling or English breakfast, regular or decaffeinated work well.
- Chai masala powder - freshly ground authentic Indian spice mix is essential. You can make your own in advance or buy a premium mix.
- Sweetener is optional. Unrefined brown cane sugar, coconut sugar, and maple syrup all add welcome caramelly flavors. Liquid stevia makes it sweet and sugar-free.
- Macadamia milk - homemade is by far the richest and creamiest, but don't skip out on this recipe if you have to use your favorite store-bought brand of milk.
🔪 Steps
- Boil black tea and powdered spice mix with water. Let steep for 5 minutes.
- Strain the mixture.
- Add macadamia milk and bring to a second full boil.
- Pour into cups and sweeten vegan chai as desired.
♨️ What is chai masala?
Chai masala is a select blend of freshly ground sweet and hot Indian spices. It's the key ingredient in this recipe that makes it possible to have a fragrant, warming cup of chai in no time.
My 5-minute powdered spice mix has cardamom, clove, black peppercorn, cinnamon, fennel seed, ginger, and star anise and it's a dream to have it on hand when you get a craving for Indian spiced tea.
A tiny spoonful of this magical mix infuses boiling water with all the heady, tongue-tingling flavor of whole spices without the long steeping time.
It's also a brilliant addition to baked goods and anything else your creative heart desires. I think you'll be more than happy if you blitz up your own precious jar of chai masala.
🥛 Homemade macadamia milk
So, why would you take the time to make homemade macadamia milk as well? In my book, its pure flavor and rich quality are vastly superior to the packaged plant milk you buy at the store.
Now, if you have a rich and creamy plant milk you're sold on, by all means, use it.
However, if you haven't already tried making your own homemade nut milk, I think you'll be amazed at the difference. The recipe card below also gives you all the instructions you need to make macadamia nut milk.
The problem with many store products is they have off-flavors from a slew of additives, are overly sweet, and when it comes to making Indian spiced tea, pitifully thin, slimy, or watery in taste.
In addition, homemade nut milk often has as much as six times the protein of vegan milk from the market. I'd go for flavor alone, but the nutrition factor is also persuasive. I don't want you to miss out on the option to make your own.
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- Loose-leaf black tea is recommended.
- Fresh Indian spiced tea powder is essential.
- Macadamia milk made with one part nuts and 4 parts water is just right in this recipe.
- Extra tips on equipment and technique for making nut milk can be found in my Vitamix Almond Milk Recipe.
- Boil tea with powdered spices and let steep in the pan, covered, for a full 5 minutes.
- Strain the tea and spice mixture before adding milk.
- Repeat boil after adding milk.
- Whisk vegan chai vigorously before pouring it into cups.
- Serve piping hot with sweetener as desired.
💭 FAQ
Yes, you can substitute 2-3 tea bags for one tablespoon or 5 grams of loose-leaf tea in this recipe.
"Chai" means tea in Hindi and "masala" means spice. Thus, "chai masala" means tea spice, like the whole spices or ground powder used to flavor tea. In contrast, "masala chai" means spiced tea, like the popular warm beverage made with black tea, Indian spices, milk, and sugar.
In parts of Southeast Asia and India, street vendors have a craft of pouring chai from a great height and transferring it from one cup to another. It is an art form and incorporates air resulting in a frothy chai, as well as cooling the beverage. Whipping tea vigorously with a whisk is a lesser alternative but easy for home cooks.
All over India, a myriad of spice combinations are used. That being said, the Indian spiced tea most commonly referred to as masala chai typically includes cardamom, clove, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger and sometimes fennel, nutmeg, and star anise.
🍲 More winter recipes
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📖 Recipe
Quick Indian Spiced Tea - Vegan Chai
Ingredients
Single portion
- 1 ⅛ cups water
- 1 tablespoon loose black tea
- ⅓ teaspoon chai masala powder
- ⅔ cup macadamia milk preferably homemade
- 2-3 teaspoons sweetener of choice optional
One-quart (950 ml) batch
- 3 cups water
- 3 tablespoons loose black tea
- 1 teaspoon chai masala powder
- 2 cups macadamia milk preferably homemade
- 3 tablespoons sweetener optional
Instructions
Make Indian spiced tea
- Measure water, loose-leaf black tea, and chai masala (powdered spice mix) and combine in a saucepan.
- Bring spiced tea to a full boil. Remove from heat, cover with a lid, and let steep for 5 minutes.
- Pour spiced black tea through a strainer and rinse out the saucepan.
- Return the spiced black tea to the clean saucepan and add homemade macadamia nut milk or plant milk of your choice. Bring the mixture to a full boil again.
- Remove tea from heat and whip vigorously with a whisk to aerate and cool tea.
- Pour the tea into individual cups and sweeten as desired.
Make 2 cups homemade macadamia nut milk
- Place ½ cup of raw macadamia nuts in a high-powered blender like a Vitamix. Add 2 cups of filtered water and blend on the highest speed for one minute or until very smooth.
- Line a colander with a thin, tight-weave cotton tea towel or large men's handkerchief and set it over a bowl.
- Pour the macadamia nut milk into the cloth, bundle up the sides, wring, and squeeze until all the milk is extracted. Discard the nut pulp or use it in baked goods.
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