Chai tea

Crush two cardamom pods and simmer them with a slice of fresh ginger, a small piece of cinnamon and two cloves in 250 ml water for 3 minutes. Add black tea and 100 ml milk, simmer for 2 minutes, then strain; sweeten if you like.

Cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and cloves are common in masala chai; black pepper and fennel seeds are also used. Crush whole spices lightly before simmering to bring out their flavour.

Traditional masala chai made with black tea contains caffeine. A rooibos or herbal chai blend is caffeine-free if it contains no tea leaves.

Keep loose chai tea or tea bags in an airtight container in a cool, dry cupboard, away from the cooker and strong-smelling foods. Once brewed with milk, cool it promptly, refrigerate it and use it within 2 days.

In India, masala chai is often served with savoury snacks such as samosas or pakoras. In Britain, a plain biscuit is an easy match, especially with chai made with milk.

Chai tea is usually spiced black tea brewed with water, sometimes finished with milk. A chai latte is typically a milkier, often sweeter drink made with spiced tea concentrate or powder.

“Chai” means tea in several languages, including Hindi, so “chai tea” literally means “tea tea”. In Britain, people usually use the phrase for Indian-style spiced tea, or masala chai.