Step 1
Place water into a medium, heavy-bottomed, preferably nonstick, saucepan. Break the cinnamon sticks in half or thirds and add it to the saucepan. Add the ginger to the water.
Step 2
In a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, roughly crush the cardamom pods, cloves, star anise, black peppercorns, and fennel seeds. Do not over-grind; this can lead to a gritty texture.
Step 3
Add the crushed spices to the saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring to combine; boil for 1 minute to reduce the curdling effect of the ginger.
Step 4
Reduce heat to medium-low. Add and stir in the black tea bags. Simmer tea for 5 minutes, allowing the mixture to evaporate slightly.
Step 5
Increase heat to medium-high to high. Add the coconut beverage to the tea. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low.
Step 6
Stir in the Redpath® Dark Brown Sugar (see Chef’s Tips). Dissolve the brown sugar and aerate the milk by using a ladle to scoop some of the chai and let the mixture pour, from a height of about a foot (12 inches), in a steady stream back into the saucepan; 2 minutes. Strain the masala chai through a fine mesh sieve into heatproof cups (see Chef’s Tips).
Step 7
Serve immediately.
*Redpath® Golden Yellow Sugar can be substituted for the Redpath® Dark Brown Sugar. Note that using this sugar may result in a chai that’s lighter in colour, and the caramel notes may not be as prominent.
*Use 4 to 5 teaspoons of loose-leaf tea in place of the tea bags (or the equivalent of 18 grams) if preferred.
*Before pouring the hot chai mixture into the heatproof cups, fill the cups with just boiled water. When ready to serve, pour out the hot water and strain the mixture into the warmed cups.
*Use non-dairy milk alternatives that are creamy in texture (eg. oat, cashew, soy).
*Ground spices can be substituted for the whole though the flavour won’t be as vibrant: use 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 2 to 3 teaspoons ground ginger, 1¾ to 2 teaspoons of ground cardamom, 1¼ teaspoons ground cloves, 1 teaspoon ground star anise, 1½ teaspoons ground pepper, ¾ teaspoons ground fennel seeds. Note that a coffee filter or cheesecloth in the fine mesh strainer may be needed to fully strain out the spices from the chai.
