Making sticky chai at home - a small ritual every single time. It takes five minutes, uses ingredients you can feel good about, and produces a cup that no café can quite replicate.

Here's everything you need to know.

What you'll need

A 250g packet of Chai Supply Organic Sticky Chai — Black or Rooibos, depending on whether you want caffeine or not — will give you approximately one cup a day for a month. That's thirty mornings, thirty evenings, thirty moments of pause.

Milk

You'll also need your milk of choice. Our go-to has always been Bon Soy. Dairy works beautifully. Oat milk gives a creamy, slightly sweet result. Almond and coconut milks both work well too. A small saucepan, a strainer, and a favourite cup complete the picture.

Method One: Stovetop with Milk (recommended)

This is the classic preparation — and the one that will make your kitchen smell extraordinary.

1. Add one heaped tablespoon of sticky chai to a small saucepan

2. Add enough boiling water to just cover the chai

3. Steep for 2 minutes over a low heat

4. Add milk to double the liquid volume

5. Heat slowly to simmer point — do not boil

6. Remove from heat and infuse for a further 1 minute

7. Strain into your cup and serve

The stovetop method extracts the most flavour from the whole leaf tea and spices, and the slow heat with milk creates a rounded, full-bodied cup. It's worth the extra few minutes.

A note on ratios: start with one tablespoon and adjust from there. Some sippers like it stronger; some lighter. Sticky chai is forgiving — it rewards experimentation.

Method Two: Cup or Teapot Infusion

For a quicker brew, or if you prefer your chai black:

1. Add one heaped tablespoon of sticky chai to a cup or teapot

2. Fill with freshly boiled water

3. Infuse for 3–5 minutes depending on desired strength

4. Strain and serve

This method works beautifully for the Rooibos blend in particular — the earthiness of Rooibos comes through clearly without milk, and it makes a wonderfully refreshing iced chai if you let it cool and pour it over ice.

Making iced sticky chai

Brew a double-strength cup using the teapot method, place in the fridge to cool, then pour over a tall glass of ice. Add cold milk if you like. It's the perfect summer version of your daily ritual — and the one we've been making on repeat through the muggy Southern Highlands summers. See recipe here

A few things worth knowing

• Sticky chai keeps well. Our 250g pouches are compostable and resealable, and the chai itself has a 12+ month shelf life — though in our experience it never lasts that long.

 

• The honey in the blend means no additional sweetener is needed, though if you like things a little sweeter a small drizzle of honey in the cup is a lovely addition.

 

• Don't rush the brew. The stovetop method especially benefits from patience — a slow simmer and a full minute of infusion after the heat is off makes a noticeably better cup than a quick blast.

Making it your own

Sticky chai is wonderfully versatile. Some of our sippers add a pinch of extra cinnamon or a slice of fresh ginger to the saucepan. Some use it as a base for chai-spiced porridge or baked goods. Some brew it strong and use it as the liquid in a smoothie.

However you make it, the ritual itself is part of the pleasure. Five quiet minutes in the kitchen, the smell of spice and honey warming in the pan, a cup that asks nothing of you except to sit down and drink it slowly.

That's what sticky chai is for.