What spices go with black tea

Masala chai is built on cardamom above all. Tea's tannic astringency and cardamom's aromatic sweetness balance directly, and the milk carries the fat-soluble aromatics.

Add alongside: Ginger, Cassia, Cloves, Black pepper

Moroccan mint tea is green tea rather than black, and mint is drunk with black tea across Türkiye, Iran and the Levant as well. Tannin is astringent and drying; mint is cooling and sweet, and the sugar that usually accompanies both is doing structural work rather than merely sweetening.

How: A large bunch of spearmint steeped with tea and sugar; A sprig dropped into a glass

Add alongside: Green cardamom, Sugar

• Spearmint, not peppermint. The menthol in peppermint makes a much harsher drink.

Masala chai is built on it. Tea tannins are astringent and cassia is warm and faintly sweet, so the two balance without either being lost — and cassia holds up to being boiled with milk, which more delicate spices do not.

Add alongside: Ginger, Green cardamom, Cloves

The other half of chai, and the one that makes it taste of something rather than merely of warmth. Fresh ginger simmered with the leaves gives a sharpness that survives milk and sugar.

How: Fresh ginger bruised and simmered with the tea before milk is added

Add alongside: Green cardamom, Cassia, Black pepper