tea, made strong and spicy.

Lately, I've been on a chai schtick. That warm, spicy tea is the perfect solution to the biting cold we've been having as of late. While any hot drink would've been fine, chai has always been my go-to for whenever it gets cold. What can I say? I've been in love with chai ever since the first time it's ever touched my lips.

Since I love chai so much, I find that buying a cup or two (or three!) a day started to get pricey. And when we moved to Guam and no decent tea house was in sight, desperate measures called for making my own chai at home. Thankfully, I was able to find key ingredients like cardamom on the island and decided to make my own "instant" version using several different recipes as a guide.

While the convenience of adding hot water to the "instant chai" was great, I found that getting spice sludge at the bottom of each cup was unappetizing. Even with a fine sieve, granules of cardamom, cinnamon, and pepper drifted to the bottom, soaked up the water, and formed a layer then went in my mouth, ruining those last few sips of the chai that I could've enjoyed. Not only that, the use of highly processed non-dairy powder and instant tea really bothered me . . . what was I really drinking?

When we got back state-side, I once again had access to coffee and tea houses. I drank chai steeped from actual tea leaves and it was heavenly! But those places are still hard to get to since we're currently in a small town and I find myself confined instead to store-bought bags of chai packets. After the last purchase I made and finding it lacking in both taste and flavour, I decided it was time to make my own.

I like my chai spicy. With lots of pepper and cinnamon, a good amount of cardamom, and enough licorice to round out the flavors. So when I was hunting for a recipe, this was a great starting point. I tinkered with the spice portions to suit my taste and added a bay leaf and star anise for good measure. I'm not a fan of nutmeg, so I swapped that with some allspice instead.

This turned out lovely. The spice was strong, but not aggressively so, with just the right amount of bite. The added vanilla extract made this aromatic in the best way and I loved that I knew what went in this chai. No weird chemicals, no weird powders, just spices, tea, and a good amount of milk. THIS is what good chai tastes like!

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Spicy Masala Chai
(adapted from Lands & Flavors)

For the Masala:
10 to 12 tbsp strong black tea leaves (Ceylon or Irish Breakfast)
6 cinnamon sticks
15 pods green cardamom, seeds only
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds
5 whole allspice berries
1 pod star anise

For the Chai:
1 cup evaporated milk, half and half, or thick coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
2 inch piece of ginger, sliced
1 large bay leaf
sweetener, to taste
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

 
Combine tea and spices and coarsely grind to make masala. Place in cheese cloth or coffee filter and tie off the ends with kitchen twine to make a bag. Set aside.

Add milk, water, ginger, and bay leaf in a 2 quart saucepan and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Once the milk comes to a boil, add the masala bag, sweetener, vanilla extract, and salt. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer chai for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent the milk from scorching.

After the chai has steeped, remove from heat and strain chai with a fine sieve. Serve hot with a stick of cinnamon in mugs or in glasses over ice. Bring remaining chai to room temperature before storing in the fridge to keep for up to a week.