Express Masala Chai

Mmmm.... Chai
There are times when I need coffee like in the morning and sometimes again in the morning. But there are times when there is nothing better than a cup of garam chai. There is something about sitting with a cup of chai and watching the rain through a window that cannot be explained. Now that my afternoon cup of tea has become a daily ritual, I had to find a quick and easy way to make it without compromising the taste. Masala chai is my favorite, plain tea is ok... but i need the spice. Earlier I would do the boil tea, add tea masala powder, wait for 5 min.... Then I tried the Starbucks Chai. The teabags are sold at Starbucks but a bit expensive... 5$ for 20 teabags. Then I discovered that Trader Joe's carried some masala teabags. I used this for about 4 years until we discovered the masala teabags at out local Indian store. It's a brand called Tea India.

So now what I do to get the masala chai ready even faster is use the microwave. Heating coffee ruins it but in my opinion chai can be microwaved and I don't see any difference in the the taste.


Heat a cup filled 2/3 with water for 40 seconds.
Add the teabag (make sure it is fully immersed in the water) and microwave for 40 seconds.
Add milk and microwave for another 40 seconds.
Remove from microwave and add sugar to taste and throw out the teabag.
This takes about 2 minutes start to finish... and tastes as good as making on the stove.