Chai - at home or easily available

[SpaceOP]

I recently went to Dishoom and had chai for the first time. Loved it. Dh got me one at a market a few weeks ago and it was also lovely, but not as good. If I want to treat myself locally I most likely need a chain that does good ones or a good (easy) option at home. Please recommend?

We live in Surreyn near Epsom, so in unlikely event anyone has local recommendations I am open to that too!

Am here to update! I felt Chetna's was a bit "thin" for want of a better word. it was nice.. but not quite. So I went back and watched the Dishoom video and also upped the spices and I think I've nailed it. I noticed he used a LOT of ginger and also a lot of milk, and he boiled the tea bag from the start and then boiled with the milk for a while.

So 5 or 6 cloves, 4 cardamon pods, a large stick of cinnamon, 2 pepper corns and a generous amount of ginger - sort of a fat thumb! Boiled, WITH the assam teabag, for about 10 minutes. Then I added full fat milk - quite a lot - and an obscene amount of sugar - about 1.5 tablespoons and boiled for another 10 minutes.

DELICIOUS. Rich, Creamy. Fragrant. Made two cups.

Fantastic! It’s great that you’ve got it how you like it.
On the back of this thread I made a pot yesterday using Yorkshire tea bags and it was just ok. Will try assam another time.

I think the assam worked only becuase I think regular tea bags boiled for that long would be awful. The other key difference I think was the ratio of milk to water (quite heavy on milk - so more water originally but a lot had boiled off by the time I added the milk) and the increased amount of spices I used to really get that flavour out.

Im just reporting back, I dont like the green one, its too spicy for me. I dont find it oversweet though so that bit is ok

I buy this myself, also unsweetened so I can add sweetener, I love it! I've even got my friend hooked too! Royal Chai on Amazon is £17.99 for 4 boxes of unsweetened, 20 sachets in each box.
I also like the ginger chai, it's lovely and warming, especially in winter!

You could try 'Cafe Chai' in Banstead to see if they both serve and sell proper chai? (I've had a delicious hot chocolate there!)

https://www.thespicery.com/chai-spices

Evaporated milk is the way to go.

Chala Chai is the best I've come across. Their hot chocolate is nice too.

I'm Indian and the closest chai on the high street is chai walla, but I would ALWAYS go for homemade so if you have the time, it would be good to ground your own spices and then boil them with milk and tea bags. Typically - nutmeg, cinammon, cloves, ginger

So funny. I was driving down Banstead high street the other day and as I went past Chai I thought, "ooh, I wonder if they do actual Chai?". I've been in there quite a few times but usually for coffee or food (and DD is a fan of their chocolate brownies). Will have to check next time I'm there.

I've been spending time in a client's office and they have a big tub of a powdered chai. I just haven't tried it yet as I haven't felt like it. I thought that would be a good option for trying the powdered stuff without committing!

I also still haven't checked out dosa shops in Tolworth as I just haven't been past their recently but I might be giving DS a lift that way this weekend at some point so if I do I might try stop in.

Chetna's an absolute treasure, I love her. I also love how she's fine about messing stuff up - like forgetting the sugar - and just corrects herself and keeps going. I have a couple of her books andf watch her YouTube channel regularly.

I like Dishoom's chai but it is very sweet; I take the sugar down a little myself.

I vaguely follow the Dishoom recipe, but cut down substantially on the sugar and use oat milk instead of cow's. It's lovely.

The tubs of powdered chai are far too sweet imo.

dishoom pricey , royal chai its ok the instant one but still weak

I make this chai all the time. It looks like a long video-but it’s really easy to make-she’s just chatty!

I like proper Chai but if I am making it at home I have Chai teabags . I put 2 in a mug with milk and pop in the microwave for around 90 second, remove teabags and add a bit of honey

Caffè Nero's Chai Latte is gorgeous.

Starbucks\Pret/Costa chai tastes like dishwater.

Amusingly, I am standing waiting for dd to try on some clothes and checking mn while I wait. This thread is from ages ago.... but I just bought some chai from Wittards! I tried a sample and it was nice. Not AS good as mine, but a lot less faff!

Ha - just came across this thread as I was drinking my first mug of Whittards vanilla chai. It's powdered but if you make with half milk and half water it's not too bad. Prefer the Dishoom one and ask for it for Christmas given the price. That's lovely if you reduce the amount of sugar.

Oof chetnas spice drawer!

Coincidentally, this thread just popped up after I just made a pot of Chetna’s chai!
I don’t make it often as I like to treat it as special, normally just use chai tea bags.
TBH, I don’t follow the recipe closely, just chuck in the spices but must have ginger, cardamom and star anise and if I have them add black peppercorns, cinnamon sticks and cloves. It’s a joy just chucking things in knowing I’m going to have cups of warming goodness.

For some reason, drinking Chai out of a thermos while DS plays rugby has become a thing and tomorrow he has a match so that's good. I think I'll use my new Whittards but I might brew it the proper way - on the stove and add the milk and cook for a bit more and I might toss in fresh star anise. I'm looking forward to it already. I even have a ridiculous new thermos mug thing that I got at an event that's super swish! :)

If you still want a 'quicker' version that isn't powder you might like this blend from my favourite tea company, OP

https://suki-tea.com/products/indian-spiced-chai?_pos=1&_sid=438bc3ffd&_ss=r

It's loose leaf tea and spices, so the flavours should be better than teabags, but not quite as good as making it all yourself.

Aldi have chai and massala chai teabags in the middle aisle at the moment, which I like. I tend to drink them black.

I also have this from whittards which is also very nice.

I would also second chaiiwala, really like their chai! I noticed you said you live in Epsom, which isn't too far from Morden. I live around the area and theres a new chai place called Chai Palace which is also quite nice for Chai.