Chai Calculator for Any Number of Cups

How the chai calculator works

The chai calculator multiplies every ingredient in your one-cup recipe by the number of cups you want. You enter what goes into a single cup, the way you already make it, and it shows the amount of each ingredient for the whole pot:

amount for the pot = amount for one cup × number of cups

It then adds up the liquids. Every row measured in millilitres, litres, cups, fluid ounces, pints, quarts or gallons counts as liquid. Rows in teaspoons, tablespoons, grams or items do not, because those are usually tea leaves, sugar and spices. If you enter your pot size, it checks whether the liquid fits and, if not, how to split it:

cups per batch = usable pot fill ÷ liquid in one cup, rounded down

batches = number of cups ÷ cups per batch, rounded up

Spoon, cup and item amounts are shown as kitchen fractions, the same way as in our recipe scaler. Grams and millilitres are shown as decimals. Any amount that had to be rounded is marked, with its precise value next to it. Units are converted with exact definitions: a metric teaspoon is 5 mL and a metric tablespoon is 15 mL.

Worked example: karak chai for eight

The example recipe is a milky doodh patti or karak chai for one cup. It is only an example; every family makes it differently. Here it is scaled to 8 cups:

Ingredient	One cup	8 cups
Water	60 mL	480 mL
Milk	150 mL	1,200 mL (1.2 L)
Loose black tea	1 tsp	8 tsp (40 mL)
Sugar	1.5 tsp	12 tsp (60 mL)
Green cardamom pods	1 item	8 items
Fresh ginger (grated)	2 g	16 g

The liquid is 210 mL per cup, so 8 cups need 1,680 mL before boiling. With a usable fill of 1,500 mL that is 180 mL too much. Up to 7 cups fit in one batch (7 × 210 = 1,470 mL), so the calculator suggests 2 batches of 4 cups each.

Why does chai shrink while boiling?

Chai loses some volume while it cooks. Water turns to steam as the pot boils and simmers, and the tea leaves soak up liquid that stays behind in the strainer. A long boil, a wide pot or no lid all mean more loss. There is no single figure that fits every kitchen, so the calculator does not guess one. It gives the liquid you put in, not the chai you pour out.

To learn your own loss, make your usual batch once and pour the finished chai into a measuring jug. If you are short, add a splash more water or milk per cup to your recipe next time, then enter the new amounts here.

How do I measure my own cup?

Make one cup the way you like it and measure as you go. Pour the water and milk from a measuring jug, level off spoons of tea and sugar, and count the pods or cloves. If you add ginger, weigh it on a kitchen scale or use a teaspoon. Then enter each ingredient on its own row in the chai calculator.

• Tea bags and pods. Choose “Items / pieces” and enter the number for one cup, such as 1 tea bag or 0.5 for half a pod.
• Cups and mugs. A metric cup in the unit list is 250 mL. If you measure with a mug of a different size, measure it once in mL and enter millilitres instead.
• Spoons. The list has metric (5 mL and 15 mL) and US spoons. The difference is small, but pick the ones you use.
• Recipes in another format. To change ounces or US cups first, use the kitchen unit converter.

Tips for making chai for a crowd

• Leave space in the pot. Milk foams up as it comes to the boil. A pot filled to the brim can boil over, so a pot that only just fits the liquid may still be too small.
• Sweeten at the end if unsure. Guests may like it less sweet. You can stir in the sugar after tasting.
• Work in batches. When the pot is too small, make the batches one after another. Enter the cups for one batch in the chai calculator to see its amounts.
• Cost it. To see what a pot of chai costs for a dawat or a stall, enter the batch amounts in the recipe cost calculator.

What this calculator does not do

The chai calculator only does arithmetic on the recipe you enter. It does not know how strong you like your tea, it does not estimate evaporation, and it never converts between weight and volume, because that depends on the ingredient. It also does not give health advice. To read about the ingredients themselves, see our guides to green tea, Indian spices, ginger and cloves.

Sources used on this page

• US Food and Drug Administration: Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine Is Too Much? (caffeine in black tea and the 400 mg a day figure in the FAQs)

Everything else on this page is plain arithmetic on your own recipe, so the chai calculator works the same for doodh patti, masala chai or a simple cup of tea.