Homemade Chai Tea

I love tea very much, especially Chai tea. I have tried hard to be

a coffee drinker, loving the smell and spending my time in coffee

shops. Seems the drink of choice for most people, but

I find over and over that I can’t get past it’s strong bitter flavor, not

to mention the stomachache that follows shortly behind me finishing

a cup. I do drink one cup per week (Saturday morning), but this cup

is normally lased with a good deal of Bailey’s Irish cream!

Chai and green tea are normally my drink of choice. I have become

a bit of a Chai connoisseur and finally this week was able to make

my first batch of homemade Chai! Drinking it brought me back to

The Lux coffee house (http://www.luxcoffee.com) in downtown Phoenix

who brewed some of the best I have ever tasted! So different then the

watered down, highly sweet mess you get from Starbuck’s or any coffee

shop too lazy to brew a few spices.

Here is the recipe. I tweaked it to my taste but there are lots of different

variations out there.

Ingredients

Makes 2 servings

• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 6-8 green cardamom pods
• 15-20 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick (broken up)
• 2-3 pieces ginger root, peeled, thinly sliced
• 2 Star Anise
• 2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons black tea (Darjeeling is the best)
• Sweeten to your taste (4 tablespoons brown sugar, honey or
• 1 cup whole milk

Directions

In a small saucepan, combine the water, cardamom, ginger,

cinnamon stick, fennel and star anise. Bring the mixture to a boil

then lower the heat and simmer for a few minutes until the mixture

is fragrant. Add the milk and tea leaves, and simmer for another

minute then turn off the heat and let steep for 2 minutes. Pour into

a cup through a fine mesh sieve. Discard the leaves and spices.

Add sweetener, to taste.

If you want deeply flavorful tea in the morning, follow these

alternate directions starting the night before.