Chai masala is six spices and one decision, and the decision is how much cardamom. Get that right and the rest is forgiving; get it wrong and no amount of adjusting the others will rescue it.
Short answer: Cardamom should be about half the blend by weight. Clove should be under a tenth. Most homemade chai masala reverses that, which is why it tastes medicinal rather than fragrant.
Cardamom is half the blend
This is the proportion that surprises people. Green cardamom should be roughly half the total weight of a chai masala, and it is the most expensive thing in it - which is exactly why most recipes quietly cut it and make up the volume with cheaper spices.
A blend that is a third cardamom and heavy on clove and cinnamon tastes warm but not fragrant. The thing people are actually chasing when they make chai masala is the cardamom, and there is no way to get there except by putting in the cardamom.
Use the pods, and crush them, but grind the whole pod rather than extracting seeds - the husk contributes to the body of the blend and the effort of podding forty grams is not repaid.
Saunth, not fresh ginger
Fresh ginger in chai is a separate and excellent thing - grated into the pot, sharp and bright. Saunth is different: dry ginger, ground, warmer and rounder, with none of the sharpness.
In a masala blend it has to be saunth, because fresh ginger cannot be stored in a powder. And in a Rajasthani winter it is the right choice anyway - the heat is deeper and lasts longer in the cup.
Many households do both: saunth in the blend, fresh ginger in the pot when someone has a cold. That is not a contradiction; they are doing different jobs.
Buy saunth whole if you can and grind it. The whole dried rhizome keeps a year; the powder is tired in three months and much of what is sold as saunth powder is already old.
The clove ceiling
Six grams per hundred. That is two or three cloves per hundred grams of blend, which sounds absurdly little and is correct.
Clove is 15 to 20% essential oil and almost entirely eugenol, which numbs and dominates. A chai masala with twelve grams of clove in it tastes like a dental surgery, and no amount of extra cardamom will cover it.
Cinnamon has a similar though gentler problem - twelve grams is already assertive, and cassia in particular is strong. If your chai tastes of cinnamon rather than of chai, that is the reason.
Making and keeping it
No roasting. Chai masala is unusual among Indian blends in that the spices go in raw - roasting cardamom drives off exactly the volatile aroma you are making the blend for.
Grind everything together in short pulses, sieve, and re-grind the coarse bits. Elaichi husk can be stubborn; a little coarseness is fine and will steep out in the pot.
Fifty to a hundred grams at a time. Chai masala is noticeably flatter after two months, and half a teaspoon per pot means a hundred grams is a lot of chai.
Small airtight jar, away from the stove - which, for a masala used every morning beside the stove, takes a small act of discipline and is worth it.
Buying it in Salumbar
Our spices is on this site with the weight and the price on every pack. Order before 5 PM and it reaches you the same day inside Salumbar, free over ₹200. We have been on Sadar Bazar since 1961. If you would rather just say what you want, send it on WhatsApp and we will confirm the price before we pack anything.
Questions people ask
How much chai masala per cup?
Half a teaspoon for a pot serving four, added with the tea leaves. A quarter teaspoon for a single cup.
Why does my chai masala taste medicinal?
Too much clove. It should be under a tenth of the blend by weight - six grams per hundred. Clove is almost entirely eugenol and dominates everything.
Should chai masala spices be roasted?
No. Roasting drives off the cardamom aroma, which is the main thing you are making the blend for. This blend goes in raw.
Saunth or fresh ginger in chai?
Both, for different effects. Saunth is warmer and rounder and is what goes in a stored blend; fresh ginger is sharper and goes into the pot.
How long does homemade chai masala keep?
About two months at full strength. Make 50 to 100 g at a time rather than a large batch.
Can I use cardamom seeds instead of pods?
You can, and podding forty grams is a long job for little gain. Grind the whole pods - the husk adds body and steeps out.
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