Normal cha (what we call it in Gujarat) has no extra spices except perhaps some fresh ginger. Masala cha is made by boiling it with a spice mix of dry ginger, cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, all ground to a powder. I use a proportion of 4:2:2:1:1. You can vary the proportion to your liking or add a bit of nutmeg or mace or fresh mint leaves or Indian basil (tulsi). I often add fresh grated ginger as well. At Indian grocery stores in the US you can find Wagh-bakri brand instant masala chai. Just add about 4 fl.oz of near boiling hot water to a tea pack and you get some amazingly good masala tea!

this is very interesting, never thought that black pepper can be mixed in tea! I am very tempted to try that at home. Do you add milk/sugar in masala tea?

Not GP, but yes, people in India mostly add both milk and sugar to masala tea, i.e. it is not had with just tea and the masalas - IME, at least. Can't say specifically what is common in Gujarat, though, since I haven't been there except in early childhood a few times (with parents), and didn't drink tea then.

thanks for info, cann't wait to try it.

Welcome.

Sugar as per taste but milk is a must! I use 1:2 water:milk but you can vary it. About 1 tsp of masala per cup or mug. Typically you’d heat the whole concoction till the milky water rises once or twice. I don’t put in the tea (loose or tea bag) from the start as it tends to become bitter but it must still boil with the rest for a minute or two.

thanks, the information on the process to make the tea is super helpful. I was just going to ask about it, now things become much clear to me. 1:2 water:milk? man, that's a lot of milk. But I love milk, so that will be great. Also, I guess unlike what the Chinese normally do, there is no refilling hot water into the pot/mug to drink more, right?

I now use 1:3 or less especially when using whole milk, 1:2 or 1:2.5 when using 2% fat milk. Experiment and see what you like! There is no one true recipe!

Definitely no refilling with hot water! As the whole process takes time, I used to make 3-4 cups in the morning and take the remaining tea in a thermos to work.

got it. also i am sensing when you say 1:2 you mean 1 unit milk with 2 units of water, not the other way around as I thought before.

A normal "Chai" in my home is just 1:1 Milk and Water with a teaspoon of tea, a little sugar and maybe some cardomom.

A "Masala Chai" is milk, water, green tea leaves, tea, cardomom, cloves, grated ginger, a leaf of tulsi and a bunch of other stuff according to taste.

A bit like how Britons say "tea" not "black tea", even though it's a kind of tea that a Chinese tea-drinker might find a bit unusual.

There's nothing unusual about black tea in China. Putting milk in it would be, though!

Putting milk in black tea (milk tea / boba) is very popular in China. Maybe it hasn't been historically though.

That was the OP's point.

Nope. Chai is just tea. Spices may be added for regional defaults, but you can also get normal milky tea.