Fat Gives Things Flavor
About the Recipe
I have always been a tea drinker, and a good friend of mine in high school always drank chocolate chai and it smelled delicious. In university, I tried chai from the box concentrate and absolutely loved it. I prefer an iced chai over a hot one.
Over the years, as that concentrate became more expensive and my palate developed for stronger tastes, I took on the task of making my own. After many trail and errors, and many watered-down lattes, I made this recipe.
Eventually, I will work on making a chocolate version of this so I can relive my memories of his chocolate chai!
Ingredients
1 tsp ground ginger
4 star anise or 2 tsp ground anise
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp whole cloves
2 tsp cardamom pods
1 tsp black peppercorns
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 black tea bags
5 cups water
1/4 cup sweetener of choice, I usually go for regular white sugar*
Preparation
Step 1
In a food processor or small blender, add star anise, black peppercorns, cloves, and cardamom pods and pulse 5-6 times until all spices are broken up.
Step 2
In a medium sized pot add your water, spice mixture, ground ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks and tea bags and bring to a slow boil.
Step 3
After about 5 minutes remove the tea bags.
Step 4
While uncovered let your mixture reduce by 1/4 - 1/2 depending on how thick you want your concentrate.
Step 5
Turn off the heat and add your sugar and vanilla extract and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Step 6
Strain mixture into a heat safe bowl and let cool for 1 hour
Step 7
Strain mixture again into desired airtight container and keep it in the fridge.
