Thursday, March 3, 2011

Oh-me-oh-my-oh-look-its-Chai!

Remember how I told you about my inherited interest in the British Royal family? When I was walking through town yesterday I saw this mug in a window:


I just couldn't pass it by. But I needed something fantastic to fill it with. Something I really, really liked, not your everyday coffee or tea.

I love chai. My mom and I used to buy a case of the Tazo concentrate and a case of soy milk and we both had one going to school or work every morning. I haven't been able to find it here outside of Starbucks, where it costs me €3-€4. Mental. And the closest one is a 2 hour drive away. When I saw the recipe on Tasty Kitchen it planted itself deeply in my brain and I started to obsess.So I figured that now I have a nice new cup that needs something special, I'd better give it a go. And I will never buy another one at Starbucks. This stuff is unbelievably amazing. Its so much better than any chai you'll buy out. And its super easy!



Amazing Spiced Chai Concentrate (from thecatnipcat) 
4-½ cups Water
1 stick Cinnamon
1 piece Fresh Ginger Chopped
7 whole Cardamom Pods
2 whole Star Anise Pods
10 whole Cloves
¼ teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper
½ teaspoons Freshly-ground Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Orange Zest
10 teaspoons Green Or Black Tea Or 10 Tea Bags
⅔ cups Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat and add everything but the brown sugar, honey and vanilla (I didn't read this part and I added everything in at once. Oops!). Leave to brew for 15-20 minutes.

 
Strain everything out and add the brown sugar, honey and vanilla (unless you added it already :D)

To serve, mix with equal parts milk and warm or serve over ice. In a special cup :)
Seriously, this stuff is awesome. I used organic unsweetened soya milk with it and it was the best chai I've ever had. If you like chai, you will love it. If you don't like chai, try it anyway. I'm sure you know a chai lover that would be delighted to take it off your hands in the extremely unlikely event that you don't like it :)

So tell me: do you like chai?


Peace,

Jenn x
Posted by at
Labels:

5 comments:

  1. JoséeMarch 4, 2011 at 5:24 AM

    What a great idea! How long do you think the chai solution would last in the fridge?

    ReplyDelete
  2. muppyMarch 4, 2011 at 7:42 AM

    Your mug is hilarious :)
    Chai is my favourite - for christmas my sister-in-law gave me a collection of spices and a recipe for chai (very similar), needless to say i loved it and your right it is so nice made like this. I think soy milk just goes so well too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lorraine @ Not Quite NigellaMarch 4, 2011 at 8:00 AM

    Oooh that's just the right amount of kitsch in that mug-genius! :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. JennMarch 4, 2011 at 8:49 PM

    Thanks ladies! :)

    Josee - notes on the original recipe said it would last for at least 2 weeks in the fridge. As the orange peel is really the only perishable ingredient, you could leave it out and it would keep for ages. You could freeze it too.

    Muppy - totally agree. It just has to be soya milk!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lucy @ LucyeatsMarch 7, 2011 at 2:46 AM

    Wow I love you! I have been eyeing up the bottles of chai syrup at the supermarket lately and trying to decide if I was desperate enough to fork over $10 for a tiny bottle..

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)