I think I’ve ordered Chai Tea from Starbucks at least a thousand times. The first time I tried Chai Tea I told my mom it warmed my soul. She makes fun of me for that statement to this day! But I said it back then and I’m sticking to it. It has this warmth and spice that really does make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. As corny as it sounds there is something about tea on a cold day that makes me happy, especially Chai Tea. Now my mom orders Chai Tea all the time and I know it warms her soul too. 
When Kara and I first started this blog alllmmmost a year ago, this was on the first list I wrote of recipes I wanted to try. It took me a really long time to actually get around to making it. I think I was just waiting for fall to come because this tea is perfect for cozy fall mornings, afternoons and nights.
I was slightly nervous about making this tea because I had to splurge and buy a few special ingredients. They weren’t too expensive but I didn’t want the recipe to be a disappointment and be stuck with spices like cardamom, cloves and star anise and not know what to do with them. I mean honestly…what is cardamom anyway? I had no idea!
Luckily the recipe was a total success. I liked the amount of spicy-ness my concoction produced, but you can experiment with the spices depending on your tastes. I will make this Chai Tea all the time. Now that I have the spices on hand I can’t wait to make it regularly!
Here’s what you’ll need
Start by adding the spices to 2 cups of water and bring to a boil
Turn off the heat and add in the tea bags. Let steep 5 minutes
Next, add in the sugar…
And the milk and heavy cream. Turn the heat back on. As you can see my tea bag strings are starting on fire…
The paper ends got charred for sure! But the Chai Tea survived this near disaster. Bring to a boil again. Strain before serving.
I thought this Chai was fabulous!!! And yes mom…it does warm my soul!
Yield: 1-2 servings
Ingredients
¾ inch ginger, peeled and sliced
10 peppercorns (we used black peppercorns)
1 cinnamon stick
3-4 star anise
5 whole cloves
10 cardamom pods (we used 5 or 6 cardamom seeds)
2 cups water
6 black teabags (we used English Breakfast)
1 cup milk (we used skim)
1/8 cup heavy cream, half & half or milk (we used heavy cream)
2 tablespoons sugar
Directions
Place 2 cups of water in a medium pot. Add ginger, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, anise, cloves and cardamom. Bring to a boil on the stove and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add tea bags and let steep 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients (milk, heavy cream, and sugar) and turn the stove back on. Bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for a about 20 seconds and then take off heat. Strain and serve.
Source: adapted from Coffee Beans and Curry Leaves
