Chai tea

  Hannah stayed home from school today.  It didn't take but a first glance to see that she was not feeling well.  It was her first sick day of the year.  The hustle and bustle didn't even have to begin, it was a relief to know it was going to be a relaxing, watch cartoons, and drink tea kind of morning.  I wish Hannah didn't have to be sick, but I crave these mornings.

I also crave chai tea.  I personally think my homemade kind is the best.

These are the spices I use:

12 cloves

2 cinnamon sticks

18 cardamom pods

1 tsp. black peppercorns

2-3" piece of fresh ginger sliced

  Using a mortar and pestle or a rolling pin and Ziploc bag, break down everything except the ginger and peppercorns (these go flying with the mortar and pestle).  I do each of them separately with the mortar and pestle.

  Throw everything into 5 cups water and bring to boil.  Turn down heat and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. (I end up having about 4 cups at the end.)

  Take off heat and add 2 heaping Tbls. of loose tea.  I have only done black tea, but you can do green.  I always use Darjeeling and get it in bulk like I do my spices.  You can also do english breakfast tea bags, I would use 3.

  Let steep for 3-5 minutes.  *Strain tea.

  For a bit of sweetness, I add 2-3 Tbls. sugar.  I would recommend only adding a flavorless sweetener, honey and maple syrup change the flavor too much for me.

  At this point, I save the whole batch in a jar in the fridge.  I reheat one cup at a time and add a splash of almond milk.

  The fun thing about chai is that you can experiment with your own spices.  I have seen orange peel, star anise, and other spices in chai recipes.  Once you make your own, you will never go back to the premade stuff!

*Sometimes I save what I strained so that I can add in new water and have it simmer on the stove to make the whole house smell like chai all day.