I like a good cup of coffee. I even enjoy those froofy coffees like eggnog and caramel brulee lattes. But my passion? My Would sell my soul for a cup? It's all about the chai baby. Here's the rub. I'm cheap. Like Scrooge cheap. Not about many things, but spending $4.00 for a cup of tea and milk...really? For that I could feed 40 people, if I gave to the right charity (which we do).
So for a while I bought the concentrate at Wal-mart (I know. Wal-mart. I promise that's once my paycheck allows me to honor my moral opposition to Wal-mart, I will. For now, deal with it.) It was WAY cheaper. But still the $4.00 for the box...seemed expensive after a while. So I started making my own. I've been through several recipes and I think I've found one that works. Here's the steep (get it?):
Ingredients:
2" of peeled ginger root cut into 4 pieces (it really needs to be real ginger root. Don't use powder. Trust me)
6 whole cloves
10 black peppercorns
2 whole star anise
4 cardamon pods
6" cinnamon stick
1/4 of a whole nutmeg- if you need to use ground (which I don't recommend), use 1/4 tsp
4 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup brown sugar (this is Oregon Chai sweet. Use less if you want less sweet)
6 bags of black tea (I used 3 black and 3 black/green)
1 quart container to store it in
Put the water and the spices in a pot on the stove. Do not include the sugar or the tea. Simmer the spices for 10 mins. Remove the water from the heat and add the tea bags. Steep for 7 mins. Strain into container. Add the sugar and shake to dissolve.
I use a 1:1.5 ratio of tea to milk, but you do you. Enjoy!!
I am the last one on the Chai Tea/Latte train, as I have just discovered that I really like them! I will have to go for this, bc Starbucks is too expensive!!! Do you store in the fridge or cupboard??
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly! Store it in the fridge! If you like it as spicy as Starbucks, I would double the peppercorns. That's how I've made it the last few times since I posted this. So good.
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