Indian · IV The Method
Chai: Indian Spiced Tea Technique
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The working recipe — the Market List, the Method, and where it lives or dies
I
Origin
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II
Description
Masala chai — the spiced milk tea of India — is not a recipe but a method: strong black tea (typically Assam CTC — crush, tear, curl grade) simmered in water with warming spices, then milk added and the whole brought to a rolling boil twice, producing a thick, creamy, intensely flavoured drink that requires the milk's fat to carry the spice compounds to the palate. The double boil is the technique: the first boil extracts maximum compound from the tea and spices; the milk added before the second boil emulsifies the fat-soluble spice compounds into the dairy.
III
The Thread
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IV
Flavour Context
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Pillars V — VII
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