Spicy Chai Latte – Bake with Grace

I have a bit of an obsession with Chai Lattes at the moment. I think I may be late to the chai party, they have been popular for ages now, but now I’m here, I’m staying.

First thing that I’ve learnt in my search for the perfect Chai Recipe, is that Chai means ‘tea’, so you really shouldn’t say “Chai tea” because you are just saying “tea tea” and you’ll sound silly.

There seems to be so many different ways of making this wonderful tea, and each recipe had the makers personal tastes added. Cinnamon, Cardomon and Ginger were key ingredients in all the recipes I looked at. I liked the liquorice taste the star anise gave the tea, so I used that and the peppercorns really do give a lovely lift to the ginger, so I put those in too. It’s really fun to add, mix and experiment. I felt like a crazy scientist.

I’ve sweetened mine with honey, but if you prefer sweeteners or sugar, go ahead and use those.

My recipe below is the end of many experiments and it’s just how I enjoy it. Let me know in the comments if you have anything that you add to yours. I’d love to give it a try.

I bet you could make a large batch of this and after straining it, you could keep it in the fridge and add it to steaming milk ,as and when you wanted a chai.

This will make one mug of tea, so if you are making more, just double or treble the quanities as needed.

I’m going to have a chai party very soon, who’s coming?

• 250ml water
• 2 tea bags or 10ml loose leave black tea
• 1 star anise
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 4 green cardomon pods (bruised)
• 2 peppercorns
• 4 whole cloves
• 3 thick pieces of ginger root (fresh and bruised)
• 10ml honey (or other sweeterer)
• ground cinnamon to serve
• 60 ml warm milk (I frothed mine with my esspresso machine)

1. In a medium pot, place water, tea bags and all the spices except the ground cinnamon.
2. Bring the water to the boil and boil for two minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Allow to stand for two more minutes.
4. Remove the tea bags if using (loose leaf tea can remain in the pot)
5. Stand for a further 15 to 30 minutes. Taste half way through to test for depth of flavour.
6. If the tea is too cold, warm gently on a low heat again. Do not boil.
7. Strain the tea into a large mug and add honey and milk.
8. Serve hot with ground cinnamon dusted ontop.
9. A  Candied Orange Peel Shortbread biscuit will go perfectly with this spicy tea.