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Chai is my cup of goodness. I am Indian and “chai” is what we mean when we say “tea”. I look forward to it at least 3 times a day. When I am sipping my chai, I am not really thinking about all the health benefits (which you can find in this link) it has. I am just enjoying its taste. Just 2 spices ginger and cardamom are what I use in a regular cup. There is a longer list of other spices that you can use. I have listed them all below.

Recipe

Number of servings: 1 (I find it easier to adjust for more servings when I start with a recipe for just one)

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Ingredients

1. ¾ cup of water if using dairy creamer or half and half and, ½ cup of water if using milk. Milk or dairy creamer can be substituted with another creamer of your choice. The flavor changes however. (The total amount of liquids is more than one cup. I am allowing for 1/4 cup loss due to evaporation and absorption by the tea leaves as they swell)
2. 2 green cardamoms (elaichi in Hindi), coarsely ground. If using powdered cardamom, use ½ teaspoon  
3. ½ inch fresh ginger
4. 1 teaspoon black tea leaves. Add more if you like a stronger brew.
5. 1 teaspoon honey or sugar. Skip if you wish.

The next list of ingredients are optional for me. On some days I include some of them, but rarely all of them.

• 2 black peppercorns (kaali mirch in Hindi), coarsely ground
• 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi, in Hindi), coarsely ground
• 2 cloves (long, in Hindi), coarsely ground
• 1 inch piece of cinnamon bark (dalchini, in Hindi)
• 1 bay leaf (tej patta, in Hindi). This last spice is more popular in the eastern parts of India

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Procedure:

1. Bring water to a boil
2. Add the spices. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Let it simmer for 30 secs with the lid on. We want to lock in the flavors.
3. Add the black tea leaves. Let it simmer for 1 minute. Yes, place the lid back on. It should be a dark red liqueur now.
4. Pour the chai liqueur through a strainer into a cup.
5. Add warm milk or creamer.
6. Or, if you don’t feel like warming ½ cup of milk, like me, you can add the cold milk to the tea in the pan. Wait for it to start simmering. Pour through a strainer into a cup.
7. That’s my perfect cuppa! Sip away! Destress! Rejuvenate! Keep the bugs away!