Chai tea once savored only by those in eastern India, has made its way to the west and grown considerably in popularity. Coffee houses around America have chai tea variations on the top of their bestseller lists. Save money and learn to make a good chai tea latte at home. Kick your feet up and drink in the delightful flavor of the East in your own backyard.
Instructions
1. Find the best quality and freshest ingredients in both the spices and tea leaves to achieve the fullest flavor. Check websites like Cardamom Spice and Kho-Cha, which offer fresh ingredients of fine quality to make chai latte.
2. Place water in a pot and while the water heats, add a stick to a stick-and-a-half of cinnamon, eight cardamom pods, a few cloves and a thin slice of ginger, about ?-inch long.
3. Wait for the water and spices to boil then reduce the heat to low.
4. Cover the pot and let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from heat then add 2/3 cup of milk and sugar to taste, about 6 teaspoons. Place the pot back on the heat and bring it to a simmer. A variation to adding the milk to the mixture is to add only the sugar at this point and steam the milk with an espresso maker or steam wand and add after you brew the tea.
6. Add the Darjeeling tea leaves to the simmering mixture and again remove the pot from the heat, covering tightly. Allow the tea to steep for 3 minutes for a medium to strong flavor. Adjust the steeping time to suit your taste.
7. Top off the chai latte with steamed milk if you eliminated the milk in Step 5 and used an espresso machine or steaming wand instead.
Tags: chai latte, from heat
