Inji Chai Indian Ginger Tea

Fresh ginger vs. ginger powder for ginger chai

Fresh ginger has a very herbal, bright, and peppery ginger flavor compared to ginger powder, which has a more earthy and spicier ginger taste. When it comes to making ginger chai, I really want to feature this one spice in all its glory so I prefer using fresh ginger compared to ginger powder. It creates a ginger chai that is more nuanced with fresh, light, and spicy flavors whereas using powdered ginger mostly adds the back-of-the-throat heat without the other complex flavors. However, when making masala chai, I make a masala chai spice blend where I prefer using ginger powder because it can stand up to the other spices in the mix and the dry ginger powder helps create a shelf stable spice blend.

Substituting ginger powder with fresh ginger

Ginger powder is much more potent and spicy than fresh ginger. For every tablespoon of fresh ginger, substitute with ½ teaspoon of ginger powder. You can always taste your chai and decide if you want to add more ginger powder but you can’t easily take it away. Remember that if you add too much ginger powder, the chai can become grainy in texture from the powder.

Why did my ginger chai curdle?

Fresh ginger has an enzyme called zingibain which can cause milk to curdle. However, that enzyme denatures at temperatures above 60°C or 140°F. So if your chai curdled, it means that you added your fresh ginger to the milk before it reached 140°F.

Add ginger to hot water to prevent chai from curdling

In order to prevent your chai from curdling, I recommend adding the fresh ginger in the beginning step of chai when you bring the water to a rolling boil and add black tea. The temperature of the water at a rolling boil will be 100°C / 212°F which is a high enough temperature (> 140°F) to denature the curdling enzyme, zingibain, and thus eliminate the chance that the chai will curdle. Do not add fresh ginger when adding cold milk to the chai because the curdling enzyme will still be active in these low temperatures. If you forgot to add fresh ginger into the water as it was boiling, you can either bring the milk to a simmer before adding the ginger or substitute ginger powder in your chai instead.

Ginger chai vs. other chais

Ginger chai features one spice whereas masala chai is made up of many spices. Ginger chai uses fresh ginger (although some recipes do use ginger powder) whereas masala chai uses a chai spice blend to flavor the drink. Ginger chai is spicier than more floral and delicate chais like cardamom chai or rose chai.

Best tea to use for chai

The best tea to use for chai is loose leaf CTC black tea. CTC, which stands for “crush, tear, curl”, is a machine-processed tea. This tea is defined by its small granule texture and strong taste. You can learn more about CTC tea, why it is the best tea for chai, and its substitutes in this in-depth blog post about black CTC tea. If you don’t have time to read that blog post, don’t worry - here are my recommendations for black tea for your ginger chai. I like Red Label or Diaspora Co’s CTC black tea to make my chai!

Alternative sweeteners for chai

This recipe calls for white granulated sugar because that is what I grew up drinking. However, you can use so many different alternative sweeteners for chai. Here are my recommendations and how they will affect the taste of your ginger chai:

Honey - Ginger and honey are a match made in heaven Jaggery - An unrefined sugar that adds a deep molasses flavor Brown Sugar - In between jaggery and white granulated sugar in taste Maple Syrup - Slightly caramel-y taste that is a bit sweeter than honey

Snacks that pair well with ginger chai

Drinking chai in the afternoon or throwing a chai party requires some snacks to accompany it. My two favorite snacks to pair with ginger chai are my chai sugar cookies and caramelized onion puff pastry swirls. The chai cookies, which have chai spices baked in, are something sweet that you can dip into your chai and make for a delicious sweet treat. The caramelized masala onion puffs use store-bought puff pastry sheets and pantry staples for a delicious savory accompaniment.