Chai II: Events and Notes

I have made chai for one of the woman saints from India that tour North America every summer. The chai was for her crew, actually. This was the Ma's first visit to Woodstock, and the organizers wanted everything to be perfect. So, out of some personal delusion regarding perfection, I decided to make Woodstock tea. This I took to be caffeine-free, mellow, gently but interestingly spiced. I thought the chai came out pretty well; it was rich, creamy -- probably I used a milk substitute -- and soothing. Local volunteers drank it and thanked me.

At the end of the day, one of the crew came up to me, smiling but holding some great distress in his eyes. "Thank you for your tea," he began. "But --" he surged ahead -- "but we're on the road all the time. We really need the caffeine and sugar. I hate to impose, but could you make regular chai for tomorrow?"

I assured him I could. I have stuck to regular chai ever since.



When Celestial Seasonings first came out in the 1970s, the tea was loose. I remember trying to stir up red zinger from the bottom, where all the rosehips had settled. But inevitably, the tea I made grew increasingly astringent as the box emptied.

Tea bags became the standard. Flavor mixes began to change. Mandarin Orange Spice, which sustained me, disappeared completely. I wrote Celestial Seasonings an outraged, desperate letter. They responded with coupons. Mandarin Orange Spice has since returned, less tart. Bengal Spice is sweeter, with added dates. Not all changes are for the worse.

Chai Black is Yogi Tea's souped-up version of their first yogi tea, which sprang from Yogi Bhajan's original five-spice recipe: cardamom seed, cinnamon bark, clove bud, ginger root and black pepper with black tea. The original version, as I recall, was meant to be steeped for some time, and was too peppery for me. The company's new Chai Black, bitter to some, has a different mix of spices and extra added flavor oils. I picked up a packet recently and found it to be perfectly spiced, if the teabag is brewed only briefly and the tea is drunk with milk and honey. Not too peppery. A soupcon too long in brewing and that peppery overbite comes back, and perhaps the bitterness others lament.
Tell us your favorite readymade chai combo! Please post in the comments below.



“I provide two or three 40-gallon batches for Ecstatic Chant,” says Alison Lopez of her chai. Ali, who is the executive chef at the Omega Institute, stopped by at our table at Omega during lunch recently. The dining hall was very busy, and she was very busy, but I managed, through repeated questions and succinct responses, to get her recipe.

Ali boils the water with the spices. Remembering how long it used to take me to bring 12 quarts to a boil on top of a conventional stove, I asked her the timing on 40 gallons.

“Oh, it takes no time at all. We use a steam ring. It’s very fast -- and costs thousands of dollars.” So there you go, chai wallahs: don’t necessarily try this at home.

Add the tea, let it steep. Pour the tea out and add milk. As I recall from under the tent at Ecstatic Chant’s all-night kirtan, it’s served in stadium-sized vacuum urns, such as you might rent at a party store.

Last question. Spices, Ali?

“Cinnamon for sure -- I use sticks. Cardamom -- yes, I throw in the pods. That’s it -- no, and ginger.” And off she strode, briskly.

Ali's Ecstatic Chai: black tea, milk, evaporated cane juice, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and love

Here's My Chai Recipe. What's Yours?

There are as many kinds of chai as there are people who make it. I learned to make chai from Ma Chetan Jyoti, a North American swami who lived in India and supported and promoted kirtan both in India and the U.S. I have made chai for years, and the recipe I use has changed to become my own. Usually, I make chai for 50 people, or multiples of fifty. I can give you those proportions later in this post; let's tackle the simple basic recipe first.

Ten cups of chai:
Okay, you can half this recipe, but only reduce the dry ingredients to two-thirds. Chai is for company; four cups is the least I would attempt.

7 cups of water
3 1/2 cups whole milk
4 teaspoons Brooke Bond red label tea (or equivalent)
one thumb of ginger root, sliced
about 12 cardamom seeds
1/3 cup sugar (or to taste)
pinch of dried rose petals

Put the water into a pot that is big enough to allow the milk and water, combined, to foam up as it boils. Add ginger and cardamom. Bring to a boil.

Brooke Bond Red Label tea is a well-known brand of mamri tea -- tea rolled into pellets -- and is often found in Indian groceries. Other brands can be available; I even found Lipton's version in Albany once.

Add tea: the general proportion is half a teaspoon per cup, plus half a teaspoon for the pot. Boil for the amount of time it takes to chant one round of japa on a mala. Obviously, if your mantra is Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, your tea is likely to be stronger than if your mantra is Om. I have no input to offer on this disparity.

Add milk. Watch carefully. When it boils, it will suddenly foam up -- and overflow the pot, unless you break the surface by adding a little cold milk. Stir and reduce heat so the milk is only simmering.

After a minute or so, bring the milk up to a boil again. Turn it down again. An American woman who was married to a Rajasthani temple musician once showed me her version of chai; from what I recall she brought the milk to a boil three times. The longer the milk cooks, the sweeter and richer the chai.

Add the sugar. Let someone else taste it and tell you when it's sweet enough. I follow the Indian practice of never tasting what I cook; it's interesting.

Add a pinch of dried rose petals. That's a recent addition that makes the tea more tri-doshic, according to my dried rose petal source and friend, Leslee. The rose petals are thus optional; but since I've started using them, I prefer the chai with them.

Let the chai sit for a minute or two. To serve, pour through a sieve into a cup. Try for a foamy surface: The greater the height you can pour from, the more foam you'll have on the surface of the cup.

Never yet having been to India, I can only say this is a very successful recipe by the response. I have made chai for pujas, concerts, kirtans and visiting swamis. At a recent yantra-painting workshop I attended and provided chai for, a group of Indian natives lined up for the chai early. Friends who knew my chai knew to get in early as well. By the break, I was preparing a second batch. The second batch usually disappears more slowly.

I perfected massive chai at a retreat center where, during the years I lived there, I did a lot of cooking and serving. We had enormous stainless pots that, when filled, took half an hour to come to a small boil, then another half an hour to boil the milk. So chai was made ahead and put in vacuum or plug-in coffee urns. Make sure there is NO coffee residue or smell. Eventually I noticed measurement lines stamped into the sides of the pots. That's how I developed my two-to-one ratio: eight quarts of water to four quarts of milk. One-half cup of tea. As much ginger as you have. Scant eighth cup of cardamom seeds, or five pods. Much sugar: Be attentive, as the tasting usually goes not sweet enough, not sweet enough, not sweet enough, oh, a little too sweet.

Chai is comfort, stimulation, fragrance, desire and conviviality all at once; it is also rich, and the first cup is always the best. BTW, always offer the teacher the first cup.

PLEASE TELL US YOUR CHAI RECIPE AND WHERE AND FROM WHOM YOU LEARNED IT. POST IN COMMENTS BELOW.