Any chai lovers?

[susanne]

I love Chai, but the store versions are too sweet and not spicy enough, so I've been collecting recipes from the net and creating my own version. This is what I have so far...very good, but I'll always be working to make it even better. Does anyone have their own?

susanne's chai

This recipe makes about 4 dainty cups, or two big piggy cups like I serve it...

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamom

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 t. fennel seeds

1/2 t. licorice root

4 cups milk (I use skim...one recipe suggested unsweetened,nonfat condensed)

sweetener (to taste)

1 vanilla bean (optional)

2 heaping tablespoons of black tea

1 In a 2-qt saucepan, add spices to 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil; remove from heat; let steep for 5-20 minutes, depending on how strong a spice flavor you want.

2 Add 4 cups of whole milk to the water and spices. Bring the milk and spice mixture just to a boil and remove from heat.

3 Add the tea to the milk and let steep for 5 to 10 minutes to taste. (Option at this point - reheat to a simmer and remove from heat.) You can add sweetener at this point, or serve without and let people add the amount they want.

4 Strain into a pot. Serve.

I've also combined equal parts of each ingredient (except only half as much cinnamon) and made a masala that I then microwave (gasp!) with milk, then add vanilla and sweetener and steep the tea in the brew.

 

[Jenn]

I LOVE chai too ... Here's my recipe:

Walk to coffee shop

Order chai tea

Wait for them to do their thing

Sit in comfy chair and drink tea while visiting with locals

The local coffee shop has a kick-butt spicy version that I adore. There's also a gorgeous little restaurant (I'll take you there if you ever make it up this way!) in another town that I adore that makes a to-die-for chai latte.

 

[susanne]

Hehe...that's so often my favorite recipe... Two houses ago (are we gypsies or what?) we had a neighborhood coffee shop that had a great spicy/not-too-sweet chai that got me hooked. Then we moved, and then we moved again, and Scappoose coffee shops all seem to like only the icky sweet.

Jenn, we plan on coming up your way, though probably not this summer...we have to wait for your little girl to get big enough so that we can play obnoxious Aunt and Uncle and get her drumming on the pots and pans!

 

[nootka]

I know we discussed this when you were visiting, but I have not yet made my own. I will give yours a try as I dislike the overly sweet as well.

Maybe my dad will like it, too, as he enjoys something different once in a while and can't drink the traditional due to the sugar issue. He has lots of good friends that are Indian, and they know where to get the good, fresh spices plus they also make their own. He speaks fairly decent Hindi and his nickname w/them is Mota Bopu (big daddy). *LOL* He's taught me how to make a few Indian dishes that I looooove like Bhataka (not sure of the spelling, but it's basically spicy, stewed potatoes and onions).

Liz M.

 

[susanne]

Liz, I think I'd like your dad -- he sounds like an interesting man!

I have more experimenting to do...I'm going to try nutmeg...not traditional, but I think it would be great. I'm also going to experiment with non-caffeinated teas so that I have something hot to drink at night in addition to regular tea. One recipe I saw uses tapioca, like bubble tea.

 

[nootka]

Yep, you'd like him once he got past his shy/quiet stage. *LOL*

But he's VERY into "everything" as most people like to say they know a little about a lot of things, he knows a LOT about a lot of things, and really gets "into" whatever has caught his attention at the time.

Right now he's studying very very old lifeforms as he pursues his master's degree (which he hopes to achieve in 2008) in Earth Sciences. He can rattle on about them, and it's really fun to have him explain it in "laymen's" terms, plus it's just gratifying seeing him truly enjoy his retirement. He was such a workaholic when he was with UPS that we all feared (even him) that he would just decay and bum around once he retired, but nothing could be further from the truth. I just bet he may have a recipe for Chai lying around, himself, that Samir and his wife may have given him.

I LOVE Bubble Tea, susanne...and very much the Thai tea (the orange kind) with a bit of condensed milk in it w/the pearls. I love the way the Thai tea smells as it brews, it's just magical to me. 'Course I love Jasmine green tea, too.

Poihaps we should have some made up for the Schooling Show, it can be COLD there, ya know!

Liz

 

[JO~*]

I make mine the same way Jenn makes hers.

For anyone that does not know what chai tea is the way I explain it is that it taste kind of like pumpkin pie,

and hot apple cider with whip cream. At least thats how it tastes to me the way they make it here.

 

[Triggy&Blue&Daisy Too]

Now all these recipes sound quite delicious! My one experience with chai was not a good one but I think I should try again with some of these recipes. I LOVE green tea and would probably substitute that for the black though. I found some green tea imported by a UT company called Teatech.com that will knock your socks off for strength and quality. It comes powdered and mixes completely hot or cold so it would be loveley with these combinations of spices. One little packet of it is equal to 8 cups of a good quality green tea and is specially processed for purity and strength.

 

[nootka]

Hhhhmmm...oh, this is making me want a cup of jasmine green tea from Fusion in Longview. *whine*

I will have to settle for what I have here, no slouch, though a rooibos tea that I really like.

Sounds like your green tea, Shirley, would be a good choice for a chai. I have heard of green chai, so I know it will likely be something you enjoy perfecting.

Looking forward to doing the same, myself.

Liz

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

I LOVE chia tea, especially the chocolate chia. I have not tried to make my own, so unfortuanately it comes to me in a can ...already made. I have a friend who owns a Bed & Breakfast, and she serves it there, so I usually just order mine from her. BUT--I love to try new recipies and will definitely give Susanne's recipe a try. Does anyone have a recipe for a chocolate chia? It taste alot like hot chocolate. YUMMMYYY, but then again , I like all teas, especailly the flavored ones. Corinne

 

[xxs]

I got this recipe at Christmas time. I think it came from Carol Z. It is quite good for being instant...yep! INSTANT!! lol!!

Chai Tea Mix:

1 cup nonfat dry milk

1 cup powdered non dairy creamer

1 cup French Vanilla powdered non dairy creamer

2 1/2 cups of sugar (or a substitute)

1 1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea (I used decaf and it is still good

)

2 teas. ground ginger

1 teas. ground cloves

1 teas. ground cardamom

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. In a blender or food processor, blend 1 cup at a time until the mixture if a very fine powder.

To serve, Stir 2 heaping Tablespoons of Chai mix into a mug of hot water.

That's it! So easy and so good! I made a batch at Christmas and gave every one a jar. It makes about 1 1/2 qts. of mix that I keep in a qt. and a pt. canning jar. It makes my tummy very happy!