Chai Tea — Feenster

Chai is one of the most nostalgic smells of my childhood, along with sourdough toast. Every morning, while my sister and I were growing up, my mom would drink a chai with soy milk for breakfast. I love the smell.

But you know what I don’t love so much? Oregon Chai’s sugar content. Oh man, this stuff is chock full of sugar. I have nothing against sugar. I crave it all the time. But should you drink that much sugar for breakfast? Me thinks not. You might as well drink a large Coke or Pepsi.

My mother is addicted to Oregon Chai. For years, I’ve wanted to make her a healthy alternative. This is it! Honey and spices make this sweet, warm, and spicy. Mixed with your favorite milk, it becomes creamy and comforting. It’s everything I wanted from a chai concentrate and nothing I don’t. It smells like Christmas and tastes like home. I think you’ll love it too.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

3 tablespoons black peppercorns

40 cardamom pods

20 whole cloves

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

6 cups water

2 tablespoons of grated fresh ginger

8 black teabags

½ teaspoon vanilla

¼ cup honey

Roughly chop the fennel seeds, black peppercorns, cardamom pods, and whole cloves. Grate the nutmeg. Add all spices to a large saucepan.

Heat spices over low to medium heat until they become fragrant. Stir frequently to avoid burning.

Add water and grated ginger and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and add teabags to mixture. Let steep for five to eight minutes.

Remove teabags and squeeze to remove excess water. A wooden spoon is the best tool, since teabags will be hot!

Stir in vanilla and honey. Let stand at room temperature for one hour.

Pour mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to remove spices.

Store in a covered container in the fridge. Concentrate will keep for two weeks.

To use, mix equal parts concentrate and milk. Serve hot or cold. Enjoy!

Fennel seeds have the best licorice scent

Lines of cardamom pods. Ah. So Satisfying.

You can crush the pods in a coffee grinder. Love this method.

Just a couple of notes…

Chopping… You can chop the spices on a chopping board, in a mortar and pestle, or in a clean coffee grinder. I found that chopping the spices with a knife takes too long. A mortar and pestle sounds cool but, as I smashed the spices, they’d bounce back out again. So then I was chasing the spices all over the counter. Black peppercorns are like little bouncy balls! Instead, I have a cheap coffee grinder that I only use for spices, not coffee. It’s the easiest. Just dump in the spices, give em a whizz, and you’re done! Minimal effort.

Flavor… If you want a spicier flavor, add more fresh ginger. And, if you don’t feel grating the ginger, you can always just add slices or chunks to the liquid, since you’ll strain them out later anyways. Either way, it’s delicious.