Chai Tea Latte

It would seem that quality chai tea is much easier to make than the coffee shops make it out to be. It's so straightforward that I suspect you'll soon be making it every morning like I am. Plus, you don't have to think about what's in the pre-made mix in a cardboard box the coffee shop dumped into your cup.

Ingredients:
2 inches of fresh ginger, thinly sliced (about 1/8-inch)
3 cinnamon sticks
14 whole cloves
6 cardamom pods
1.5 teaspoons black peppercorns
6 cups cold water
7 tea bags (black tea preferred)
2 cups 2% milk (if you want ultra-creamy, go for whole milk)
1/3 cup golden brown sugar, packed

Directions:
Combine the first 6 ingredients in a medium saucepan (make sure it is large enough to hold 8 cups of liquid without making a mess). You will strain the mixture in the end, but I recommend placing the smaller spices in a tea ball (peppercorns, cloves, cardamom) so that it will be easier to strain (or just scoop like I did--whatever makes the least mess!).

At any rate, you combine those first 5 ingredient and then add the cold water. Set this to high heat and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, remove from the heat and add your tea bags. Steep for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the bags, squeezing the liquid from the bags--that's good stuff!

Add the brown sugar and the milk and set back on high heat and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, turn off the heat. At this point you can either strain the mixture, or, if you used the tea ball, then you can remove the ball and just scoop out the cinnamon sticks and ginger slices. Then, enjoy your masterpiece!

There are definitely variations to this. If you prefer yours sweeter, add more sugar. If you like more of a bite, add more peppercorns (I would not go past 2 teaspoons though). Starbucks now has a chocolate chai tea latte, so add some cocoa nibs to your tea ball. That will probably be my next attempt at this.

Note: You may have noticed I don't care about my writing. The point of this blog is the food and the therapy that comes from making it, and enjoying it. If you want quality writing, read Shakespeare.