A chai tea latte is one of those things that always puts a smile on my face. It also happens to be one of my wife's favorites. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and I've done plenty of baking and cooking. Developing a chai concentrate recipe is kind of a natural jump from modifying baking recipes at altitude. I started like usual, searching Google and finding a few different recipes to try. After trying a bunch of these recipes and not getting the results we wanted, I tweaked various batches until it was just right. Below is the result, just enough spice and not too sweet, mixed with whole milk it is silky smooth and has a nice bite.
Homemade Chai Concentrate (makes approx 3 quarts)
3 Quarts + 1 cup Water
2 Tablespoons Whole Cardamom Seeds or Cardomom Pods lightly crushed
2 Tablespoons Whole Black Peppercorns
1 Tablespoon Whole Allspice
2 Tablespoons Whole Cloves
10 whole cinnamon sticks (6” pieces)
1 Tablepoon Ground Nutmeg
20 Whole Star Anise
1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Cup Honey
5 Tablespoons Fresh Ginger Peeled and Diced
6 Whole Vanilla Beans sliced down the middle and caviar scraped
4 Tablespoons + 1 Teaspoon of loose leaf Earl Gray tea - I do heaping spoon fulls : )
Bring all spices to a boil over medium high heat, reduce
heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add tea and simmer for another 4 minutes depending on
desired strength.
Remove tea bag and gently squeeze them to ensure full
strength.
Let mixture rest for 10 minutes before straining and canning.
Or store for up to a week in the refrigerator.
For a delicious chai tea latte, heat chai
concentrate mixed with your favorite milk or milk substitute. For best results
slowly bring mixture to a gentle simmer on the stove. I like to add just a touch of heavy whipping cream to the mix for a little extra richness. Cheers!