26.7.09

in the mix...


i have played around with different ingredient mixes for a while now...
this now needs sharing, because once you hand-make your own, you will never..yes never...buy chai tea or latte again...

chai mix is traditionally made in a large pot of sweetened boiling water and steeped over a long period of time- over night even...
with a pot on the stove top you can just dip in any time you like...
but for practical purposes in our household, we use a single tea steeper for one cup and a coffee plunger if multiple cups are needed...

so here is my mix..and i always double it to fill the canister..

1 tablespoon fennel seeds
6 green cardamom pods
12 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 cm dried ginger root
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg pod
1 star anise
whole vanilla bean

place all of the above ingredients in a mortar and pestle and smash roughly to mix. don't turn it to powder...

to the above quantity of spices you add 4 tablespoon of good quality green tea....if you are not a green tea drinker then add a mild black tea like darjeeling or russian caravan...
the commercial tea leaves are just used to pad out the quantity so anything can be used so long as it doesn't overpower the spice mix..
store in an air tight container.

for chai tea just steep one teaspoon of mix to one cup of boiling water...
for chai latte steep one teaspoon of mix in hot milk...

remember...chai is traditionally a sweet drink, so if you are that way inclinded i suspect brown or raw sugar would be the go...i have a sweet tooth, but never feel the need to sweeten this, the vanilla bean and cinnamon seem to suffice...

this is perfect for drinking in the craft room with your favourite music playing while working on your current production....the fragrant smell is enough to put you in a good mood...
actually it is just good for drinking anytime...happy crafting....

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ooohhh . . . I know what my tea-loving friends are getting for Christmas now. Thanks for sharing!

P Dragon said...

This is so awesome. Thank you so much for posting this! I love chai tea, and now I can have some whenever I want!

Yvonne said...

Wow - thank you, I have to try this. I found this via another blog - blogging about you.

Anonymous said...

Great, I will definitely make up some of this. Thank you!

I have some Indian friends who make an easy masala chai - get a regular tea bag, add a little cinnamon bark, couple of cloves, smashed up cardamom pods and a couple of slices of fresh ginger. add honey/sugar and milk. Yum.

I absolutely LOATHE buying a masala chai (chai=tea, masala=spice) only to find its made from a syrup. Yuk!

kirsten said...

oh, very nice!
that would be just the thing... if i wasn't amid de-cluttering my entire life!! :)
next house. i'll save the links.
yummo.

Regina said...

I have my own recipe too, but it doesn't have fennel or coriander, so I will definitely try yours next. The more flavor the better, I say!

Thank you for sharing!

Flissy said...

I just made a batch and it's so delicious! Thank you for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Hi ! I am new on your blog... I am from Québec, in Canada and I'm practicing my english... :)
Thank you very much for sharing! I'll be back soon for sure !
Caroline