Wednesday Morning Chai

Good mornin’!

Sometimes, you just gotta do the caffeine thing. Start the day out right with this easy, super-tasty chai tea! The foam will make it feel luxurious..and really, who needs an excuse for something yummy in the morning? You’re worth it. The best part is that it’s cheap and healthy–far from the usual Starbucks fare.

Chai Tea Latte

Brew:

Okay, so if you really want to be pro, you can make your own tea from scratch! Chai tea has many variations, but you can use this basic recipe to get started. Experiment by adding grated orange peel or more of your favorite spices. Below I’ve included two different versions: a complicated one, and a more simple rendition.

Chai: (makes 5 cups)

- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger root (grated)

- 1 whole star anise (crushed)

- 1 teaspoon orange peel (grated)

- 4 pieces cinnamon bark (canela) -  1 1/2 inch

- 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds

- 10 whole cloves

- 5 whole peppercorns

- 5 cups water

- 1/4 cup black tea leaves (like Assam or Darjeeling)

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- 1/4 cup honey (you can also sweeten with stevia extract or agave nectar, if you’re not a honey person)

- 3 cups milk

1. Add the first seven ingredients to a pot–bring the water to a low boil, then reduce the heat and simmer

2. Add the tea leaves and continue to simmer for an additional 15 minutes

3. Strain the leaves and spices and add the honey, sugar and milk (see below if you prefer to froth your milk mixture!)

Simple Chai: (makes 1 1/2 cups)

- 1 1/2 cups water

- 1 1/2 inch cinnamon

- 8 cardamom pods

- 8 whole cloves

- 1/4 inch fresh ginger root (cut into thin slices)

- 2/3 cups milk

- 6 tsp sugar (or agave nectar, stevia extract, etc to taste)

- 3 tsp of Darjeeling Tea leaves

The directions for this one are identical to the directions for the more complex recipe above; this version just has fewer ingredients, and makes less tea.

The chai can also be brewed from a bag– just look in the tea section of your local grocer for a convenient chai option! Bags work great when you’re in a time crunch, out of ingredients for the homemade tea, or just not willing to take the effort to brew your own.

Foam (the best part!):

This stuff is really very easy to make with the handy “Aerolatte” milk foamer–you can buy this baby on Amazon for fifteen bucks, and it’s useful for more than just coffee/tea beverages. It acts like a kind of micro-whisk; the most frivolous–but cool–kitchen utensil ever conceived. There are similar tools out there, as well–if you’re one of those people with the amazing do-everything hot drink brewers, then you can probaby foam your milk with that.

1. Fill a glass with warm milk (I do soy, personally, but this can be adjusted!)

2. Add stevia/agave nectar/sugar to taste (this step optional

3. Froth milk until consistency is…well, frothy. Yeah. It all depends on your personal preference.

4. Pour froth into chai tea.

(You can also froth your chai directly by just adding the milk to the tea and frothing from there.)

5. Sprinkle with cinnamon!

Enjoy!