How to Make Chai Tea

Home Cooking No Responses »
Feb 282010
Making Chai Tea

Making Chai Tea

Tired of that cup of Folgers every morning?  Want a little change from Starbucks?  Well, next time you want a little pick-me-up, try brewing a cup (or 4, in our recipe) of chai tea.

What is Chai Tea?

For those unfamiliar with chai, it is black tea infused with aromatic spices, finished with milk and sugar.   Virtually any blend of ‘sweet’ and ‘warming’ spices are a good match for chai tea.  Sweet spices are those that pair well, or are enhanced by sweetness: Nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, fennel seed, star anise, cassia and cinnamon to name a few.  Warming spices include peppercorns and ginger, as well as cinnamon.

There are brands of sweetened chai syrup on the market, as well as prepackaged chai flavoured teabags, but they can’t compete with the intoxicating aroma and deep flavours of real chai tea.  Making the real thing is about as difficult as boiling a pot of water – you just need a few things on hand.

As with many Indian dishes, there are limitless regional differences with chai tea.  Some recipes omit ginger or cloves, some add other spices, and I’ve even heard of chilies being added.  Preparation methods differ as well, so remember, there is no truly ‘right way’ to make chai tea.

How do I make Chai Tea?

Ingredients for 1 Litre of Chai Tea

3 Tbsp Black tea – Use a good quality black tea.  Something you would drink on its own.  If you don’t have any on hand, 4 or 5 Tetley tea bags will do.  I normally drink Red Rose tea, but for some reason Tetley seems to make nicer, less tannic masala chai.

Spices -

  • 3 inches cinnamon stick
  • 10 green cardamom pods
  • 1/2 inch ginger, sliced thin
  • 10 whole cloves
  • 10 black peppercorns
  1. Place 2 1/2 cups of water, and all of the spices in a pot, and bring to a boil.
  2. Once boiled, cover your pot, and turn to low heat, or turn it off.  Let the spices steep for 10 minutes.
  3. Add 1 1/2 cups milk, 2-4 Tbsp sugar, brown sugar, or honey and bring back to a boil.
  4. Once boiled, turn heat to low.
  5. Add tea leaves and steep on low heat for 10-15 minutes.
  6. Strain and serve.
Chai Tea - Ready to Strain

Chai Tea - Ready to Strain

Some additional spices you may want to try adding to your chai:

  • Star anise
  • Dried orange peel
  • Vanilla bean (or just the saved pods, after you scrape the seeds)
  • Nutmeg
Posted by Chris at 8:56 am Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Make your own vanilla vodka or vanilla extract

Baking and Pastry No Responses »
Jun 082009

The  Organic Vanilla Bean Company has very reasonably priced beans, so you can make the best vanilla vodka vodka or extract you’ve tasted. Vanilla Vodka or Vanilla Extract

By submerging a few beans in a bottle of reaonsable quality vodka (at home, we’ve used about 10/750ml bottle) for between 1 and 6 months, you will have an amazing vanilla vodka (you can also use other alcohol such as tequila or rum).  Just keep your bottle in a fairly dark and cool area to keep it fresh.

After 6 months, the liquid will be quite dark and can now be used as vanilla extract.  With a large number of beans such as we use, you can re-fill the bottle when it’s getting low and not lose very much flavour.  I think we’ve probably refilled at least twice over and it’s still almost black and just as tasty as ever.

Play around, if you can.  Citrus peels, cinnamon, and green cardamoms can all be added for a more exotic infusion.

Posted by Victoria at 5:20 pm Tagged with: ,

Use all of that expensive vanilla bean

Baking and Pastry 1 Response »
Jun 072009

Lets face it – while vanilla beans add an unparalleled flavour to desserts (and some savoury items), they are more often than not outrageously priced.  I’ve seen then as high as $16 each, so it’s helpful to squeeze every last drop of flavour out of them.

Most recipes call for the scraped seeds.  For things like ice creams, creme anglaise and other wet items, it’s possible to add the scraped bean to the same liquid as the seeds, which will free any seeds left in the pod after scraping.

Side tip: Whenever you scrape a vanilla bean and add the seeds to a liquid, it’s helpful to strain the liquid where possible to remove any brown fibrous threads that line the inside of the bean, which no matter how carefully you scrape, inevitably end up in the mix.  After heating with the liquid, or if you’re making cookies, or something else not involving infused liquid, the bean can be rinsed if it’s dirty, dried and kept for garnishing (Crepe sacs are often tied with strands of vanilla beans).  The bean can also be added to a container of sugar (brown or white), or coffee, and will infuse a slight flavour.  But make sure the bean is dry first, or all you’ll get is a sticky mess.

(If your recipe isn’t particularly wet, and you still want to infuse it with a vanilla bean pod, you can poach the scraped pod in any butter or oil you will be using over low heat for 15 or so minutes – Chris)

(If you do infuse your butter, be sure to return it to the consistency the recipe calls for as butter at different temperatures and in different forms can have different properties – Victoria)

Posted by Victoria at 5:14 pm Tagged with:
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