---
title: "Homemade Chai Tea"
date: 2013-01-31T09:09:14-04:00
typora-root-url: ../../static
featuredImage: "/img/homemade_chai_tea/i_love_tea.jpg"
---

![I Love Tea](/img/homemade_chai_tea/i_love_tea.jpg)



I love tea very much, especially Chai tea. I have tried hard to be

a coffee drinker, loving the smell and spending my time in coffee

shops. Seems the drink of choice for most people, but

I find over and over that I can’t get past it’s strong bitter flavor, not

to mention the stomachache that follows shortly behind me finishing

a cup. I do drink one cup per week (Saturday morning), but this cup

is normally lased with a good deal of Bailey’s Irish cream!

Chai and green tea are normally my drink of choice. I have become

a bit of a Chai connoisseur and finally this week was able to make

my first batch of homemade Chai! Drinking it brought me back to

The Lux coffee house ([http://www.luxcoffee.com](https://href.li/?http://www.luxcoffee.com/)) in downtown Phoenix

who brewed some of the best I have ever tasted! So different then the

watered down, highly sweet mess you get from Starbuck’s or any coffee

shop too lazy to brew a few spices.

Here is the recipe. I tweaked it to my taste but there are lots of different

variations out there.

## *Ingredients*

*Makes 2 servings*

- 1 teaspoon [fennel seeds](https://href.li/?http://www.foodterms.com/encyclopedia/fennel-seed/index.html)
- 6-8 green cardamom pods
- 15-20 whole cloves
- 1 [cinnamon](https://href.li/?http://www.foodterms.com/encyclopedia/cinnamon/index.html) stick (broken up)
- 2-3 pieces ginger root, peeled, thinly sliced
- 2 Star Anise
- 2 cups water
- 2 teaspoons black tea ([Darjeeling](https://href.li/?http://www.foodterms.com/encyclopedia/darjeeling-tea/index.html) is the best)
- Sweeten to your taste (4 tablespoons brown sugar, honey or
- 1 cup whole milk

## *Directions*

In a small saucepan, combine the water, cardamom, ginger,

cinnamon stick, fennel and star anise. Bring the mixture to a boil

then lower the heat and simmer for a few minutes until the mixture

is fragrant. Add the milk and tea leaves, and simmer for another

minute then turn off the heat and let steep for 2 minutes. Pour into

a cup through a fine mesh sieve. Discard the leaves and spices.

Add sweetener, to taste.

*If you want deeply flavorful tea in the morning, follow these*

*alternate directions starting the night before.*