NEVER Make Chai With Tea Bags Again — Try These Indian Tricks

Pale, beige chai that tastes like warm milk is almost always a tea bag problem, not a milk or sugar problem. This video walks through seven steps for making chai with loose CTC tea — the tiny dark bead-shaped Assam tea sold under brands like Red Label or Wagh Bakri — explaining why ginger must go into the water before any milk is added (raw ginger can cause milk to curdle), and why sugar dissolves better into the tea water rather than into milk. The step the video flags as most decisive is called uphaan: letting the chai rise to the top of the pan and fall back three times after the cold milk goes in, which is what turns milky brown liquid into deep, kadak chai. One rise gives hot milk with tea in it; three rises give chai.

Start with one cup of water, grated ginger, and cracked cardamom pods boiled for two minutes before the tea or milk touches the pan. Add two heaped teaspoons of CTC tea and boil until the liquid turns brick-red, then pour in one cup of cold whole milk and stand at the stove for three full rises. Straining through a fine sieve and pouring from a small height adds a light froth and cools the cup just enough to drink immediately.

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