Chai Tea Latte

Nothing, well -almost nothing, makes me happier than a good cup of Chai tea latte. I get one from the coffee house when I really want to spoil myself, or I just really need a lift (or it just sounds good). My fascination and love of Chai tea was not immediate. It took a little while to develop, but oh how I love it now!! Well, it just so happens that I happened upon a recipe for Chai tea concentrate when I was surfing the web, so I decided to make a batch and see how it tasted.

I gathered together the ingredients and started the process, which turned out to be extremely simple. Basically it is just sweetened condensed milk and spices. We buy many of our spices from Penzeys, which I will take a minute to plug. We started getting them by mail back in Indiana and when we got to Columbus ten years ago, lo and behold there is a Penzeys store here. It surely must be considered one of Leon's favorite places to go. He loves trying new spices and I love having them in the house for my use as well. So a couple of the spices I used are from Penzeys. Try them - they are fresher and cheaper per unit than grocery store spices.

So I put together the sweetened milk and the spices and here is the final result. It took a grand total of 5 miutes. The idea is to add a couple of tablespoons to your hot brewed tea. I use Earl Gray tea almost exclusively, but I think there are other black teas that can be used.
My final opinion is that it is pretty good, but you have to play a bit with the amounts in the recipe and in adding the concentrate to your tea. Here is the recipe....

Chai concentrate
1 - 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 t granulated sugar
1 t ground cardmom
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t ground nutmeg

Mix the ingredients and store in the refrigerator (up to 6 months). Makes enough for about 28 cups of chai.

To use: Brew a cup of strong black teas, such as Assam, then add two heaping teaspoons of concentrate or more to taste. Stir well until concentrate has fully melted.

A great gift idea - pour into small jars with lids and tie with an attractive bow. Attach a tag with instructions to keep the mix refrigerated and how to use it.