Served hot or chilled, chai’s spicy flavor with an underlying creaminess is my idea of a comforting drink. It’s black tea brewed with warm spices and sweetened with sugar and honey. I’ve ordered it at coffee/tea shops but the BEST cup of chai was one prepared by Raju Sivarama Dandu—it is the standard by which I now judge all others. Not sure I’ll ever be able to match his cuppa but decided to give this Homemade Chai Concentrate a chance. I love the idea of a concentrate that I can keep in the refrigerator. The recipes I found suggest a blend of 50% chai concentrate and 50% milk. I prefer to use about 25% milk and 75% chai.
Homemade Chai Concentrate
5 cups water
1/2 cup brown sugar sugar
8 black tea bags, remove tags and tie bags in a bundle
4 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
8 cloves
10 cardamom pods
5 black peppercorns
5 whole allspice
2” piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- In a large saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil over high heat.
- Add the tea bags, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, cardamom pods, peppercorns, allspice and ginger. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl and discard the spices. Stir in the honey and vanilla extract.
- Let the chai concentrate cool to room temperature before transferring to a jar and storing in the refrigerator.
- Combine 1 part chai concentrate and 1 part milk (As mentioned above, I prefer 25% milk to 75% chai concentrate).
- Heat the mixture or serve with ice.
Recipe without photos . . . Homemade Chai Concentrate
5 cups water
1/2 cup brown sugar sugar
8 black tea bags, remove tags and tie bags in a bundle
4 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
8 cloves
10 cardamom pods
5 black peppercorns
5 whole allspice
2” piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- In a large saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil over high heat.
- Add the tea bags, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, cardamom pods, peppercorns, allspice and ginger. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl and discard the spices. Stir in the honey and vanilla extract.
- Let the chai concentrate cool to room temperature before transferring to a jar and storing in the refrigerator.
- Combine 1 part chai concentrate and 1 part milk (As mentioned above, I prefer 25% milk to 75% chai concentrate).
- Heat the mixture or serve with ice.
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