Lauren's Masala Chai Concentrate

Icedcacti's Note:

I've spent so much money buying cartons of liquid chai concentrate and have tried many times to make it myself. Well, today I researched ruthlessly and this (which I made up on my own) is the concentrate I've been waiting for! Keep in mind everybody has a different masala chai preference and you should adjust it to your liking - I like a little spice, not too sweet, and an overall balance of flavors. Enjoy!

• Total Time: 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 8

Yield: 6.5 cups

• 7 cups water
• 2 tablespoons cut dried ginger (chunks, available at health food stores in the bulk spice department) or 1 inch fresh ginger
• 10 -15 whole cloves
• ¼ star anise pods
• 3 inches cinnamon sticks
• ½ tablespoon black peppercorns
• ½ tablespoon cardamom seed
• 2 tablespoons black tea leaves
• 5 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• milk

Directions:

1. special note about spices (If you have a bulk foods or Whole Foods or Vitamin Cottage kind of grocer nearby, get the spices from the bulk section. They often cost 25% what you'd pay for a jar! My total ingredients expense was around $1.50, not including the milk!).
2. In a medium-large saucepan, bring about 7 cups water to a boil.
3. Meanwhile, add the 6 spices (do not add the tea yet).
4. Once the water/spice mixture is boiling, add the tea.
5. Boil 5 minutes, then remove from heat. (I know you're never supposed to boil tea, but I found this works just fine. If you don't want to boil the tea, just boil the spices for 5 minutes and steep slightly longer.).
6. Stir in the brown sugar (or honey) and vanilla.
7. Steep for 8 minutes, then strain into a glass container.
8. While you wait for it to cool, pour a mug 2/3 full with your chai and add hot milk to the top. (If it isn't spicy or sweet enough, you can still add more spices to steep - just strain the mixture again before storing.) OR for a real treat, use hot evaporated milk (I wouldn't want this every day, because its a little sweeter and creamier than regular milk.).
9. Store in the refrigerator for 7 days (maybe longer, but all chai concentrate containers claim 7 days is best). Note: Normally you'd use 1:1 ratio of chai:milk, but I brew it a little weaker and save $ on milk since I drink so much chai.

Reviews

[kakurt]

I tried this recipe and it was my first attempt at making my own chai concentrate. I loved it! I like my chai as spicy as possible and this was pretty spicy! I live in a small town so the grocery store has limited selection of spices, but I used ground ginger (instead of fresh/dried ginger) and anise seeds (instead of star anise). One thing I would recommend before you start making this to make sure you have a strainer that catches fine particles! I didn't have anything be a tea ball with a spring that made it snap shut, so I had to hold it open. It hurt my hand and was very tedious! But I still enjoy the chai very much!

Thanks Lauren!