Recipe: Homemade Chai Tea

Having bought double cream for use in this strawberry “mousse” but not having used it all, I thought it would make a delicious complement to a warm mug of chai tea.

The problem? No chai tea bags. Just black tea.

The solution? Make my own chai!

After trolling around on various blogs to learn about the necessary spice profile for chai, I filled the trusty electronic kettle and turned it on. While the water was heating, I put two black tea bags along with some spices into our blue polka-dot (polka-dotted?) teapot. The water boiled. I poured it into the teapot, put the lid on, and let it steep for 10-15 minutes.

When I returned to the kitchen, I vigorously mixed just a pinch of sugar — I am not generally a sugar-in-hot-drinks person — into some of the double cream. Then I poured that into my matching blue polka-dot mug and filled up the mug with hot homemade chai tea.

My reaction after the first swallow: “heaven in my mouth.” I don’t know if it was the double cream or the spices that did it, but that was one good cup of chai. Warm, well-rounded, richly spiced, a tiny bit sweet. Satisfying, comforting. So good I had no need for a sweet treat on the side.

Trivia tidbit: “chai” merely means “tea” in many languages, including Ukrainian and Swahili.

• Two Years Ago: Summer Plans

Homemade Chai Tea

Ingredients

• 1-1.5 liters just-boiled water
• 2 black tea bags
• 1 cinnamon stick/bark
• 4 whole cardamom pods
• 3 whole cloves
• 3 black peppercorns
• pinch of powdered ginger
• dusting of freshly-grated nutmeg
• 1-2 tbsp double cream
• 1/2 – 1 tsp sugar (more or less as you prefer)

Procedure

• Set the water on to boil.
• Meanwhile, combine the tea and spices in a teapot. When the water boils, pour it into the teapot. Let steep for 10-15 minutes, then remove the tea bags.
• After removing the tea bags, mix together the cream and sugar in the mug you will use.
• Pour the tea over the cream, take a sip, and sink into a blissful state.

Enjoy!