Homemade Chai Tea Latte

This is Christmas in a cup.

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But it’s only August…which makes this drink untimely.  Whatevs.

I was still surprised when I tried this and it actually tasted like a chai tea latte.  It tasted like I had just gone through the Starbuck drive-thru…but I hadn’t.  All I had to do was seep some spices, most of the time which was spent watching house hunters.  The most difficult part of this whole recipe was going to a super cute spice store to buy all the spices.  Visiting super cute spice stores is my idea of a good time.

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Now I don’t like all spices.  I’ve bitten into one too many slices of havarti cheese or rye bread stuffed with caraway seeds to over spice my chai tea latte with the liquorice flavor.   I’ve never liked liquorice so the star of anise spice isn’t high on my list of spices I love (i.e. cinnamon, chili powder, cocoa…is cocoa a spice? I’m gonna say yes because they sold it at the spice store so it must be a spice).  To my chai tea latte concentrate I only added one anise star.  If you like anise/the liquorice taste, add more.  You can really customize this drink to your tastes.  How fun.  Your own personalized chai concentrate.  It’s like having a Starbucks in your house that gets you like a BFF gets you.

Prior to this recipe, I’d see people using cardamom in their breakfasts and desserts, but the spice was this unknown world to me.  I hadn’t really eaten a lot of cardamom things.  Or maybe I had but I just didn’t know that cardamom was cardamom.  But now I know what it is and I like it.  I do.  I really do.

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Andrew has some choice words about chai tea lattes that I’ll refrain from mentioning.  I had Andrew taste my chai tea latte when we were in Delaware.  He was eating an egg & cheese bagel at this coffee shop and after he tasted the latte he said it, “destroyed everything good in his mouth.” 

So dramatic…I know.  I think he gets it from me.  This weekend Andrew stepped on a nail.  He had shoes on, but the nail went straight through.  Ouch.  So our weekend activities involved him getting a tetanus shot.  The nurse giving the shot kept commenting on Andrew’s muscular physique.  It was weird.  I wanted to be like, “step off, B-word.”  At one point she was like, “look how muscular his legs are!” So I said, “I know.  I married him.”  The whole thing was uncomfortable.  

Moving on.

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So every time I attempt pouring pictures I end up spilling everywhere.  One of my strengths is not looking through a camera lens and pouring something into a glass.  I thought women in general were supposed to be good at multitasking…I’ll keep practicing.  Until then, here are some pictures of spilled milk.  The part that made it into the glass turned out absolutely delicious.

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Homemade Chai Tea Latte

Yield: MAKES ~1 2/3 TO 2 CUP CHAI TEA LATTE CONCENTRATE OR 5-6 CHAI TEA LATTES

Ingredients:

4 cinnamon sticks

1 anise star

10 cardamon pods, gently crushed to release seeds

8 whole cloves

6 whole black peppercorns

1 vanilla bean, sliced open lengthwise

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed (optional)

5 cups water

4 black tea bags

Directions:

  1. In a sauce pan, bring water and all ingredients, except the tea bags, to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, partially cover and seep spices for 30 minutes. Add tea bags and steep for 5 minutes. Pour chai tea concentrate through a fine mesh strainer. Pour the concentrate into a glass jar and store in the fridge for up to a week.
  2. To make your chai tea latte, combine 1/3 cup chai tea concentrate with 3/4 cup milk. Serve hot or cold over ice.

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