Boil black tea in water, add some milk and boil some more. Almost always has sugar. Rarely any flavors such as lemon or orange (yikes - totally contra)! Of course you can add spices such as cardamom, fennel seeds, ginger, cloves, mint, tulsi - but you will try these variations at home - they do not do starbucks like pick and choose when you are drinking tea outside with chai wallahs - they will have their own picks or use a pre-mixes masala.

The chai in Starbucks and its friends is a concoction of spices, very little tea leaves and it is all in steamed milk? Quite a bit of difference between boiled water tea and steamed milk (which is also quite richer).