Authentic Chai Recipe: Frothy Indian Masala Chai for Your Morning Routine

This 45-second video shows masala chai made in the InstaCuppa automatic chai maker. The stovetop and frother method is written out below.

Authentic Indian chai is a spiced milk tea made with black tea, fresh ginger, cardamom, milk, and sugar, brewed on the stove and finished with a frother for a cafe-style frothy top. The frother adds a thick foam layer that elevates simple chai into something that feels special every morning.

Every Indian home has its own chai recipe, handed down through generations. The spice mix, the milk-to-water balance and the brewing time are personal choices. My morning chai uses a simple, strong mix: black tea, crushed ginger and cardamom. The twist comes after the chai is in the cup. I froth it for 10 seconds with a handheld frother. That gives everyday chai a thick, cafe-style foam cap. The foam sits on top, so every sip starts light and creamy, and you smell the spices as you drink. It is a small step that makes the morning feel special.

Ingredients

You need six things for one cup of authentic chai: water, milk, black tea, ginger, cardamom and sugar. Use CTC tea if you can. CTC stands for crush, tear, curl. Most tea made in India is CTC. In August 2026, India made 181.97 million kg of tea, and 160.74 million kg of it (about 88%) was CTC, says the Tea Board of India (provisional estimate for August 2026).

• Water — 150 ml
• Milk — 150 ml (full-fat for best froth)
• Black tea leaves — 1.5 teaspoons (CTC or Assam)
• Fresh ginger — 1 cm piece, crushed
• Green cardamom — 2 pods, lightly crushed
• Sugar — 1 to 2 teaspoons

Step-by-Step: How to Make Authentic Chai

Authentic chai takes about 8 minutes from stove to cup. You boil the spices, brew the tea, boil it again with milk, strain it and froth it. Here are the five steps.

1. Boil water with spices. Add 150 ml of water to a saucepan along with crushed ginger and cardamom pods. Bring to a boil. Let the spices simmer for 1-2 minutes to release their flavour and aroma into the water.
2. Add tea leaves. Add 1.5 teaspoons of CTC or Assam black tea leaves. Reduce heat to medium and let it brew for 2 minutes. The water should turn dark reddish-brown. CTC tea leaves give the strongest, most traditional chai flavour.
3. Add milk and sugar. Pour in 150 ml of milk and add 1-2 teaspoons of sugar. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Watch carefully — chai boils over quickly. As it rises, reduce the heat. Let it simmer for 1 minute.
4. Strain into your cup. Pour the chai through a strainer into your cup, catching the tea leaves and spice pieces.
5. Froth for the foam top. Dip your frother into the chai and run it for 8-10 seconds. The hot chai froths beautifully, creating a thick foam cap that sits on top of the cup. This foam layer traps the aroma of the ginger and cardamom, so every sip starts with that warm, spicy fragrance.

Tips & Variations

You can change this chai in four easy ways. Make it stronger, add more spices, use jaggery or make it Mumbai cutting style.

• Stronger chai: Increase tea leaves to 2 teaspoons and reduce water to 120 ml. This gives you a bolder, more robust chai that stands up to more milk.
• Masala chai mix: Add a pinch of cinnamon, 2 cloves, and 2 black peppercorns along with the ginger and cardamom for a full masala chai. Crush all spices lightly to release their oils.
• Jaggery instead of sugar: Replace white sugar with jaggery (gur) for a deeper, more complex sweetness. Jaggery adds a caramel-like note that pairs beautifully with the spices.
• Cutting chai style: For a Mumbai cutting chai, use 200 ml water and only 50 ml milk. Brew the tea longer (3 minutes) for a stronger, darker brew. Froth the finished chai for that tapri-style foam.

Masala Chai Latte: How Is It Different From Chai?

A masala chai latte is spiced black tea topped with hot frothed milk, made the way a cafe makes a latte. Home masala chai is different. You boil the tea, spices and milk together in one pan. Cafes often mix a spiced tea concentrate with steamed milk instead of espresso (Wikipedia: Masala chai).

So the taste is close, but the texture is not. A masala chai latte has more milk, a thick layer of foam and a softer tea taste. Home chai is stronger and darker.

How to Make a Masala Chai Latte at Home

You can make a masala chai latte from this recipe in about 8 minutes. You only brew the tea and the milk apart.

1. Make a strong spiced brew. Boil 100 ml of water with 1 cm of crushed ginger, 2 crushed cardamom pods, a small piece of cinnamon and 2 cloves for 2 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons of CTC tea and brew for 2 more minutes.
2. Heat the milk. Warm 150 ml of full-fat milk in a separate pan until it steams. Do not let it boil over.
3. Froth the milk. Pour the hot milk into a tall mug and froth it for 15 to 20 seconds. Move the frother up and down to build thick foam.
4. Put it together. Strain the spiced brew into your cup and stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar. Pour in the hot milk. Spoon the foam on top and add a pinch of cinnamon.

Want espresso in it? Chai with a shot of espresso is called a dirty chai. Try our dirty chai latte recipe.

Which Frother to Use

Any handheld milk frother can froth chai. It needs only a quick 10-second run to make the foam cap. The InstaCuppa Milk Frother with Stand (from Rs 799) runs on 2 AA batteries, which are not included. It comes with four steel whisks, including a Thick Foam whisk for lattes. Keep it on its stand next to your chai station. The InstaCuppa Rechargeable Frother, Travel Edition (from Rs 1,299) charges by USB and has 3 speeds, so you can control the foam. We checked these prices on 12 October 2026. They may change.