How to Make Chai (Kenyan Tea)

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posted on 10 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Oftentimes when we go to local eateries, ordering tea means getting served with a tray that includes a mug of hot water, some milk on the side, and a tea bag. It’s much easier for cafés to do it this way, instead of pouring out real tea that’s stored in a thermos. However, instant tea is not as satisfying as chai made from scratch at home. There’s no better tea than that made at home. The recipe is similar to the Indian way of making chai, except that Kenyans don’t use spices in their tea. Much of the East African culture like language (Kiswahili) and cuisine (chapati, pilau, biryani, chai) was influenced by West Asia and India, due to the lucrative and centuries-long East slave trade that begun in the 7th Century.

Ingredients

Mix the water and milk into the pot. For each cup of milk, match it with a cup of water i.e. one cup of milk, one cup of water. Should you prefer to have a thinner percentage of milk, you can simply adjust the ratio to 1 part milk and 2 parts water. If you want that “kick” in your tea, you will add a small serving of tea masala to infuse with the mixture at this first stage.

Set it up on the stove and bring the mixture to a boil. Some folks add sugar/sweetener to the boiling mix before serving. However, if you have a guest who does not take sugar, you may want to hold off on adding it. Also, this is the point where “nylon” is created – nylon is the boiled mixture of water and milk that can be used to make hot chocolate or instant coffee/tea.

Turn off the heat before the mixture boils over the pot.

Add a spoonful of tea leaves and stir to mix it all around. At my house, we would rather do this rather than let the tea leaves boil together with the nylon because it can make the tea too strong.