MASALA CHAI CONCENTRATE

As seen in your local specialty coffee shop:

Hugo Tea's microbrewed masala chai concentrate in bag-in-box format.

MASALA CHAI CONCENTRATE starts with over 500 kilograms of organic black tea, whole cinnamon bark, malabar peppercorns, ginger root, and clove bud, slowly simmered over the course of a day. Our chai favors the deep warming quality of true Indian chai, with ginger in a supporting role—a recipe labored over through cupping many different versions of Karha. This blend is steeped until a full-bodied concentrate is formed, to which a modest measure of lemon-derived citric acid and pure cane sugar is added. This caramelizes and melts into the brew, providing big body and homogenizing the chai in a way honey, stevia, or molasses can't. This is chai that tastes like chai; with minimal bite, no honey, or chemical sweetener.

Our true-to-tea concentrate is steeped in-house weekly for exceptional freshness. Stale chai carries a dull, cardboard-like flavor; to avoid this, we steep small batches and with the intention of selling out each week. Our concentrate is 1:2 (1 part chai : 2 parts milk). This compares to 1:1 concentrates that produce watery chai, and 1:3 or 1:4 concentrates that make excessively milky chai and are harder to dose. Highly suitable for blending with milk and signature drink mixing. Each box makes 24 12 ounce lattes. 

Outfitted with an ergonomic fast-pour spout, MASALA CHAI makes for easy, well-rounded chai lattes at home and behind bar with forward spice and subtle sweetness. This recipe was designed and tweaked to perfection after years of input from professional baristas. Mix the concentrate with your preferred milk (over ice or with steamed milk) for coffee shop-tier chai lattes.

1:2 concentrate 
(1 part chai : 2 parts milk)

Why boxes?

| FEWER CARBON EMISSIONS

20,000 glass jars, plastic jugs, or tetra packs is an entire truck’s-worth. 20,000 of our bags and boxes is a small pallet. Through the whole supply chain, our small-batch chai making creates a tiny fraction of the emissions used in glass or plastic production.

| NO OXYGEN EXPOSURE

The chai is in a sealed system from brew tank to bag, and never exposed to oxygen during packing. After opening, a 1-way spout keeps air out of the bag, unlike jugs or jars that stale rapidly once opened (as air inhabits the empty space).

| GRAVITY-DRIVEN DISPENSING

Our actuated spout is situated at the bottom of the bag to negate the effects of settling and ensure a clean, full-flavored suspension in every pour. No gurgles or caps to fidget with, either—the spout's valve operates smoothly every time.

| SPACE EFFICIENCY

Most importantly, each box contains 3 liters of chai. Measure it! It's shocking how much chai we can fit into a tiny bag compared to a clunky plastic jugs or glass jars. We use less space, less packaging, and fewer resources to produce and transport our chai.

INGREDIENTS: 

An infusion of spices* and black tea*, sugar, citric acid.
*organic

Unopened, the concentrate keeps for 1 year. Opened, 1 month.
Refrigerate after opening.