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Spiced Chai Tea

Mon, 2010-01-04 14:30 by Tammy   Tags:
Recipe Name: 
Spiced Chai Tea
Picture: 
Spiced chai tea
Description: 

A spicy fragrant homemade chai tea

Yield: 

4 servings

Ingredients: 

1-2 cinnamon sticks (3-4 inches long), broken
1 teaspoon whole cloves, crushed
1/2-1 teaspoon cardamom seeds, crushed (or 2 teaspoons green cardamom pods, crushed)
8-10 whole allspice berries, crushed
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
1/2-1 teaspoon ground ginger*
4 cups water
1 tablespoon loose leaf black tea
1/4 cup heavy cream (or milk to taste)**
Honey or brown sugar, to taste

Spices for chai

Instructions: 

1. Combine spices and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and stir in the tea leaves. Allow to brew for 3-5 minutes.

3. Strain tea into cups or a tea pot. (If using a tea pot, pre-heat the pot with boiling water first.) I use a fine mesh strainer to strain.***

4. Add cream and sweetener to taste. I prefer dark brown sugar and heavy cream in my chai, but you can use any sweetener you like, and substitute milk or half and half for the cream.

Spiced chai tea

Additional Notes: 

*I like 1/2 teaspoon ginger, since I prefer chai that isn't too hot! Feel free to experiment with more, depending on your tastes! :)

**You can use heavy cream, whipped cream, milk, or frothed milk, to taste. :)

***I have tried using my IngenuiTEA tea pot, but the powdered ginger tends to clog the super-fine mesh strainer in that pot.

For a concentrated version -- double the amount of spices, sugar, and tea (or cut the water in half)! Chill the concentrate until needed, for up to 10 days. To serve the concentrate, use 1/2 milk and 1/2 concentrate, and heat until hot (stove top or microwave).

Recipe inspiration from Houseboat Eats: Spicy Chai Tea. Be sure to check out their recipe and photos! :)

Spiced chai tea

Preparation Time: 

5 minutes

Cooking Time: 

15-20 minutes

Tammy's Review: 

This homemade chai is so delicious!! There is much flexibility with the amounts of spices, and you can also add additional spices like star anise, nutmeg, or orange peel.

I like to simmer the spices for a full 15 minutes. I've tried various black teas with this chai, and if you don't have loose leaf tea, you could use 3 (or so) teabags for the tea part, although the taste/quality will be slightly different, of course. :)

Spices for chai