Making Lattes And Chai At Home

[misskris]

Anyone know how to make a good spiced chai at home? How about lattes? Anybody with their own special recipes? I know I could probably get one at the local coffee shop without getting sick, but I'm not big on eating out anyway. And I'm kinda cheap.

[tarnalberry]

I just buy chai tea - either in tea bags (you can get lots of varieties... green chai is my preference and a lot of tea companies make chai tea bags), or Oregon Chai's boxed stuff (they have an unsweetened version that's quite tasty and doesn't have much at all in the way of sugar). If you're cheap, I encourage trying the tea bags (of course, use at least half milk/milk-sub), but trying to buy and combine all the spices you need to make a good chai is just a pain most of the time... (IMHO)

[Wandering Hermit]

Oooh! I make awesome, easy spiced chai at home....

Put enough water in a pan or teapot on the stove for two cups. Add the following to the water when you first turn on the heat:

1 cinnamon stick

About 5 or 6 whole cardamon pods

About 5 or 6 whole cloves.

Now just make tea as you would, but using this water. You can strain the spices out easily because they are whole. I just use two Lipton decaf bags per cup because I like it strong, and then I add milk and sugar to taste.

It's really, really good!!!!

[Guest zipy]

You can also buy the chai mix (dry) at specialty health stores, I've even found it at some grocery stores. It's about $4 a box...and the house smells incredible after you've made it!!! Have fun experimenting!

[misskris]

thanks guys! I'll look for some different brands, but I'm especially looking forward to trying your recipe Hermit. That sounds awesome!

[Wandering Hermit]

One other thing.... once the water is hot enough, I turn off the heat and put a lid on the pan and let it sit there for a good 3+ minutes. Then put it in cups w/ tea bags. The longer you leave the spices in the stronger the flavor.

I always make this tea after we have indian food. Which is about 2x a week at my house.