Sunday, February 29, 2004


a recipe for -- yikes -- tea

here's what a sweetie i am: i will offer a recipe for chai, or spiced tea. with all due respect to my fellow yogis over at the stall. . . .

to make this into the so-called "chai latte," you will need to be able to froth milk, either with an espresso machine or one of those crazy little whippin' gadgets. . .

anyway, on to the tea. . .all ingredients can be found at penzeys.

while you boil your water, put together some mixture of 1 piece of dried ginger, 1 or 3 green cardamom pods, 1 star anise, 1 or 3 black peppercorns, 1 stick cinnamon, 2 or 3 cloves. you can do this with whole spices, or grind the ginger, cardomom seeds, and cinnamon into a coarse powder with a mortar and pestle.

pop it all into a tea ball, or piece of tightly tied cheescloth. simmer for about 15 or 20 mins. strain quickly or take out your spice ball so the water doesn't cool and make the tea.

i think a simple plain black tea is best for this, but of course, you should use whatever tea you like or have around, as long as its not already flavored with something. i mean, don't try this with earl grey!

some people like to add vanilla extract to the milk before they steam it. most people also add honey to the finished drink.

the adventurous supplement the basic mixture above with more spices, such as 2 or 3 coriander seeds, a few gratings of nutmeg or pinch mace, etc.

the point is to experiment with your own mixture until you find something unique that speaks to you. . .

posted by fortune | 7:29 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments