Where it comes from
Kenyan chai is the daily ritual brew of the country — black tea boiled with milk, sugar and spice — shaped by Indian tea-drinking customs and poured from Kenya's own highland estates, among the world's great tea regions.
On the plate
Warm and milky with a clean black-tea backbone, it carries waves of cardamom sweetness and a peppery ginger heat at the finish. Each sip is rich and soothing, the sugar rounding the spices into something cozy.
How it works
Simmering tea and spices directly in milk-water extracts both water- and fat-soluble aromatics, while the dairy proteins and sugar smooth the tannins for a rounder, fuller cup.
Variations
Ginger-forward chai ya tangawizi, all-milk strong chai, or lighter spicing with just cardamom.
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓15 min active
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓- 14 min
Lightly crush cardamom pods, cloves and a piece of cinnamon, and grate fresh ginger.
- 23 min
Bring water and the spices to a boil in a pot.
- 34 min
Add black tea leaves and let them simmer to extract colour and flavour.
- 43 min
Pour in milk and bring back to a gentle boil, watching it does not overflow.
- 54 min
Add sugar to taste and simmer a few minutes more to meld.
- 62 min
Let the tea froth up once or twice for body.
- 71 min
Strain into cups through a fine sieve.
- 81 min
Serve piping hot, ideally with mandazi or chapati.
