CHAI CONCENTRATE

I make chai concentrate on the regular, though not as much recently. It is probably my favourite hot and cold drink, and combination of spices is just heavenly. Depending on how I feel I tweak the amount of cardamom, ginger or cinnamon and always add a generous amount of vanilla. So here's goes...

(also my sorta-but-not-really recipe is included below)

First I decide what I'm putting into it today, generally it is some sort of combination of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, star anise, vanilla, nutmeg, orange peel (or zest), black peppercorn and sometimes if I feel like it, allspice (though I didn't use it today). 

Nutmeg is the only spice I use in ground form, mostly because I don't have any whole ones but even if I did I would have to grate it anyways so this is just easier.

I ended up using some ground cinnamon since I only had 3 cinnamon sticks left, so I just added about 1/4 of a teaspoon. I don't have anything to say about the star anise other than I love just looking at it, it's pretty.

I buy this honey from a little family owned bulk store near my house, it's locally sourced which I like, unpasteurized and delicious. I've gone through 3 containers of this stuff in the last 3 months. As a side note, I also use it as an ingredient in my weekly face-mask and my skin feels super soft afterwards.

Recipe:

8 cups of water

8 black tea bags

3 cinnamon sticks + 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

some cardamom seeds

6-ish whole cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

peel of one orange

grated chunk of ginger

3 star anise

1/2 vanilla bean pod + 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup honey

Put the water on to boil

Once i'ts boiling add everything except the vanilla extract and the honey and let it steep for however long you feel like (if you are like me then around 20-30 minutes because you are too distracted playing with the baby, otherwise 15 minutes would probably do).

Now that it has steeped, stir in the honey and vanilla extract and begin to strain the concentrate into whatever container it is going to be kept in.

Last step isn't necessary but you're probably going to drink it right away, hot or cold. So drink away.

To serve pour a 1:1 ratio of concentrate and whatever milk (be it cow's or almond or whatever) and either heat it up or drop a couple ice cubes into it
I wouldn't keep this for much longer than a week in the fridge, but lets be real it won't last that long in there anyways.