I don't have experience in preparing milk tea. I do have good previous experiences with preparing lemon tea, ice tea and black tea. I mostly used to drink black tea or lemon tea, but nowadays I have started enjoying milk tea.
I tried to prepare it by several procedure and also googled for the methods of spiced tea but I still am not getting the desired results. Nobody seem to like the tea prepared by me. I need to prepare tea almost every morning and evening so I would like to understand where and what I am doing wrong.
Here is recipe I am currently using :
1.Boil water and afterwards add milk to boiling water let it boil to 4-5 mins(equal amount of milk and water quantity).
2.Add adequate amount of tea leaves(loose tea) to the boiling solution.
3.After 5 mins, add sugar to it(as per taste) and tea spice/(ginger and basil leaves).
4.Serve it after straining tea leaves from sieve.
When I make the tea, I always find it tasteless. Mostly I find that the rich milk taste isn't good enough. It has a brownish color and the smell of tea seems to be ruined. It still has fragrance but nowhere near as much as I am expecting from best quality tea leaves I am using.
Can any one suggest what I can do to improve my cup of milk tea? Are only certain types of tea leaves applicable to this method of tea making? Are there any steps I can take to maximize the rich milky flavor of my tea?Is boiling tea leaves more than adequate time may have negative impact to its essential oils, flavor and color?
Best Answer
Hmmm..... Well, I've lived in India for 12 yrs & this is how I make 'masala chai' or 'spiced milk tea' at home & in my restaurant-
2 cups water
1 teaspoon black tea, loose leaf (I use Tokla tea from Nepal)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
10 black peppercorns, coarsely ground
500 ml full fat 'whole' milk
Sugar to taste
In a stainless steel 3L pot combine tea, water, ginger & black pepper, bring to boil over high heat. Allow to boil for about 2 minutes.
Add milk to boiling tea, again allow to come to a boil. (Watch the pot closely in case the milk begins to foam, if it does foam- stir & decrease heat a little) Allow to simmer uncovered for 6 minutes.
Remove from heat, let stand for 2 minutes. Add sugar to taste if desired & stir. Use a tea strainer to strain into cups to serve. (or serve sugar on the side so people can add sugar to their own tastes)
Some notes-
I think you are trying to make 'tulsi' chai? Tulsi = Indian holy basil
If so usually the fresh tulsi leaves (around 8-10) are added to the boiling tea mixture with around 8 green cardamoms, 2 cloves, 1/4 tsp fennel seeds, and a pinch of cumin seeds as I recall. Some Indians dry roast the whole spices to mellow the flavor a bit.
Use spices like fennel, cloves, star anise, cumin sparingly as their strong flavors can take over & give the chai a 'mouthwash' taste which isn't pleasant.