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....
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