The other day my friend Suzanne served up some delicious chai and told me more of her experiences with it while in the Peace Corp in Africa. According to Suzanne, families have chai recipes the way they have curry recipes, every one a little different and each particular to a family.
It can conveniently be made all in one pot, and you can use sweetened condensed milk from a can – important in the tropics. If you really want the authentic experience, drink it from a tin cup. Here is the way that Suzanne makes her chai:
INGREDIENTS
Spice ingredients for one pot of tea:
- 1/2 of a star anise star
- 10-12 whole cloves
- 6-7 whole allspice
- 1 heaping teaspoon of cinnamon bark (or 2 short sticks)
- 6-7 whole white peppercorns
- 1 cardamon pod opened to the seeds
Other ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- 4 cups whole milk
- 2 heaping tablespoons of a high quality full-bodied broad-leaf black tea (Ceylon, or English Breakfast if a broad-leaf Ceylon is not available)
- Sugar
