i've been refining my chai process for years. this is the current state. it changes every few months.
the method
water and milk go in together from the start. ratio is roughly 60/40 water to milk. i know some people boil water first and add milk later, and they are wrong.
add the tea leaves (assam, loose, two teaspoons per cup) to the cold liquid. let it come up to heat together. the slow extraction is the difference between chai that tastes like tea-with-milk and chai that tastes like chai.
spices: one crushed green cardamom pod, a thin slice of ginger (fresh, not powdered. powdered ginger is for emergencies only), and occasionally a single clove if i'm feeling extravagant. no cinnamon. cinnamon in chai is a western invention and i will die on this hill.
bring to a boil, then reduce heat. let it simmer for three to four minutes. the color should be a deep, earthy brown. not the pale beige of under-extracted tea, and not the muddy darkness of over-boiled bitterness.
sugar: one teaspoon. added to the pot, not the cup. the sugar should integrate during simmering, not dissolve into an already-finished drink. these things matter.
strain into a cup. drink immediately. chai does not improve with waiting.
the variables that matter most
after years of experimentation, the variables in order of impact: quality of tea leaves > water-to-milk ratio > simmer time > freshness of ginger > everything else. most people optimize the wrong things (fancy spice blends) while using mediocre tea leaves. the leaves are 70% of the outcome.
the ritual
making chai is the only thing i do every single day without exception. it's my most consistent ritual. the five minutes of standing at the stove, watching the pot, smelling the cardamom. it's a tiny meditation that i never skip, even when everything else falls apart.
i think everyone needs at least one daily ritual that involves their hands and their senses. screens can't give you this.
status: perpetual draft. every time i think this is final, i change something. last update was switching from CTC to whole-leaf assam.