This is *bleeping* Chai!

A while ago K and I – completely emotionally distraught with the lack of decent/cost effective Chai offered in our area – went on a quest to find a decent Chai recipe we could make at home. Five recipes and a lot of tinkering/testing later, this is what we found:

This is Fscking Chai!

1 tbsp fennel or anise seed.
9 – 12 green cardamom pods
18 cloves
1 and 1/2 cinnamon sticks
1/4″ ginger root, thin sliced
1/4 tsp black pepper corn
2 bay leaves
7(ish) cups of water

2 tbsp loose-leaf Darjeeling tea

5 tbsp honey or brown sugar
1 cup of milk

1) Add; fennel/anise seed, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, bay leaves and water into large pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.

2) Remove from heat, steep for 10 minutes.

3) Add Darjeeling tea, bring to a boil.

4) Once boiling, turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

5) While stirring constantly, add honey/brown sugar and milk.

6) Serve and enjoy.

I like to tinker with the initial amount of water used. Partly because the burner we use on the stove likes to burn a little hot – the thing seems to have two settings, off or max. This recipe easily serves two with plenty of leftover liquid for seconds. You can also chill the excess and serve it over ice a little later. The pot included in the ingredients photo also has a strainer built into it, which is useful.

~J