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Ingredients
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Tea Concentrate
Milk & Sweetening
Spices (optional — for a masala twist)
Method
Tea Concentrate
- 1
Bring water to a boil
Pour 600 ml cold water into a small saucepan. Add crushed cardamom, cinnamon stick, and sliced ginger if using. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat.
- 2
Brew Assam
When the water boils, add 3 tablespoons of Assam tea leaves. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 3–4 minutes for a strong, brisk brew (increase to 5 minutes for extra strength). Do not over-steep to avoid excessive bitterness.
- 3
Strain concentrate
Remove the saucepan from heat and strain the tea through a fine-mesh sieve or tea strainer into a heatproof container. Discard spent tea leaves and spices (or keep spices if you prefer their continued infusion).
Milk & Sweetening
- 4
- 5
Sweeten milk
Add 2 tablespoons sugar (or 1 tablespoon honey/jaggery) to the warm milk and stir until dissolved. Taste and adjust sweetness to preference.
- 6
Combine tea and milk
Pour the warm milk into the strained Assam tea concentrate. For a typical strong Indian-style milky tea, use a ratio of about 1 part tea concentrate to 1 part milk (adjust to taste). Stir to combine and bring briefly to a gentle simmer for 30–45 seconds to marry flavors, then remove from heat.
- 7
Final strain (optional)
If you left spices in the tea or milk, pour the finished tea through a fine sieve into a serving pot or directly into cups to remove them.
- 8