The flavor of chai is unmistakable. It's the perfect blend of aromatic spices, from zesty ginger and uplifting cardamom to heady cloves and warming cinnamon.
In addition to being a delicious tea drink to enjoy hot or cold, year round, the flavor of chai makes a beautiful addition to other drinks, cocktails, and even desserts. Chai simple syrup is easy to make, whether you choose to use prepared tea bags or whole spices.
What is chai?
The sweet, spicy and creamy chai that we know in the West today is an Indian tea-based drink made from black tea, sugar, whole milk, and spices. The exact blend of spices can vary, but it commonly includes cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, clove, and sometimes star anise.
According to Food & Wine, chai is the most common way to enjoy tea in India, rather than a specialty tea drink like it is here in the US. All around the country, "chai" and "tea" are synonymous, with different regions having their own variation on the recipe.
How to make a quick chai simple syrup
The quickest and easiest way to make chai syrup is to brew a cup of extra strong chai with tea bags and once finishing steeping, remove the tea bags and add an equal measure of sugar.
Stir until all of the sugar has dissolved, and you're done. This is easy for anyone to make, with no cooking required, and it makes a delicious chai syrup in only a few minutes! I love this method when I'm short on time, but for the most flavorful and aromatic syrup, I opt to use whole spices.
This syrup is used a fall favorite, the Chai Old Fashioned
How to make chai syrup with whole spices
This method produces a syrup with a richer, fresher flavor. Also, you can customize it to have more or less of any spice you choose.
While cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom are the predominant flavors in Americanized chai, there is a wider range of spices and varying quantities used in traditional Indian chai. Cardamom is often a dominant flavor, with many other spices such as star anise or fennel seed coming into play.
Chai is not one, exact blend of spices
I mention this to encourage you to find your own personal chai blend, and to not worry if you don't have every whole spice I've listed below. Whole spices can get expensive! It's ok to customize your chai and use more or less of what you have available.
If you enjoy using whole spices, you might also like my similar Spiced Simple Syrup Recipe.
If opting to use whole spices, you'll likely want at least the top three spices: cinnamon sticks, ginger root, and cardamom pods. Allspice, cloves, and star anise are often added as well.
Keep in mind that these last three spices are quite potent and can quickly overpower, so we'll use just a few of each when making our syrup. Let's walk through the whole spices for this syrup:
Cinnamon sticks
You can choose to use cassia cinnamon sticks (the most common in US grocery stores) or "real" cinnamon, which is also known as ceylon cinnamon. Both have a similar flavor, although cassia is a bit stronger and spicier.
Fresh ginger
Some chai syrup recipes use ground spices, but this will produce a syrup with a lot of sediment or grit. Instead, use fresh ginger root. A peeled, 1-2" section roughly chopped is all you'll need. If you'd prefer, you can use fresh ginger juice instead, which will impart the same flavor. I love the ginger juice from The Ginger People.
Cardamom pods
Be sure your cardamom is fresh, as it loses its flavor over time. Old cardamom isn't nearly as flavorful as new, and you want that flavor to shine through. Lightly crush your cardamom pods before adding them to the syrup.
Allspice berries
Allspice is a unique spice from the Jamaican pimenta tree that is very potent and bit astringent. Allspice is a flavor that many of us associate with the holidays and baking, as it tastes like a strong mix of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
Cloves
Cloves are the dried, fragrant flowers of the clove tree. Its flavor is sweet, warm, and peppery. The spicy, peppery flavor can become overpowering quickly, so we'll only need a couple of cloves for this recipe.
Star anise
Star anise is the dried fruit of a Chinese evergreen tree. It's beautiful star-shaped seed pods have a pungent licorice aroma and a sweet, licorice and fennel-like flavor.
What type of sugar to use
For this syrup, you can use any type of sugar you prefer. In general, I think demerara sugar's molasses notes add to the overall flavor of any spiced syrup, but if you have plain white table sugar, that's fine too.
If you're interested, you can learn all about the difference between brown, demerara and turbinado sugar in my Demerara Simple Syrup recipe.
How to make chai syrup from scratch
In a small saucepan, combine one cup of water with one cup of sugar and your blend of whole spices (details below). Place the pan on the stovetop and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to help the sugar dissolve.
Once bubbling, reduce and simmer for ten minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool fully before straining out the spices. This step is important for developing a richly flavored syrup.
Allowing the spices to steep in the hot liquid will let them impart more flavor without reducing the syrup. If you continue to simmer the syrup for longer than ten minutes, you may burn off too much water, resulting in a much sweeter finished syrup.
You may also enjoy these other syrup recipes:
Chai Simple Syrup (with Tea Bags or Whole Spices)
Ingredients
If using whole spices:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1-2 inches fresh ginger root peeled and roughly chopped
- 6 cardamom pods lightly crushed
- 3 allspice berries
- 2 cloves
- 1 star anise
If using chai tea bags:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2-4 chai tea bags
Instructions
If using whole spices:
- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and allow the syrup to cool fully before removing the spices.
- Strain the spices from the liquid and store the syrup in a closed glass bottle or jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
If using chai tea bags:
- Boil the water in a heat proof cup or bowl and add the tea bags.
- Steep the tea for 5 minutes, then remove the tea bags and add the sugar.
- Stir until all sugar has dissolved, then pour into a glass bottle or jar and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Notes
- Using a mix of only cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom.
- Using fresh ginger juice instead of whole ginger root.