Chai Tea Latte For Me
Posted by terrepruitt on April 2, 2013
So in my post Venting Gets Me Good I explain how my complaint about Starbucks’ Chai Tea Latte landed me a great Chai Tea recipe AND cardamom, one of the spices used to make it. Well, the original recipe calls for “pinches’ which didn’t seem like enough to me and is difficult to translate in a recipe. So I decided that a pinch would be about an 1/8 of a teaspoon. I felt that made a bit of a weak tea. So I have increased the measurements and changed the water to milk ratio. Also, lately when I have been in the mood to make this tea and have actually had the time and the milk I have not had fresh ginger so I have been using ground ginger. It works for me and I am not left chewing on ginger. While my fabulous Nia friend who gave me the recipe pointed out I could use a tea strainer to get out the ginger and the cloves, one reason I like to drink the tea is to drink the ginger and get the benefits from it.
Like many recipes SOMEONE has to have created it. Then others morph it into what works for them. I keep telling one of my friends about this recipe and that I made adjustments. She seems excited to try it so she says, “And you put the adjustments on your blog?” I had not so that makes it difficult for her to make the tea with my adjustments when I have not noted them. So I decided to do it. Plus it helps me. I use my blog as my recipe book and when I have to keep remember to adjust it is not as helpful as when the measurements are just documented accurately.
Here is the recipe I have been using and I think it is very lovely.
Terre’s Favorite Chai Tea Latte:
2 cups of water
2 tea green bags
10 cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 (heaping) tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 cups milk
Boil the water then add the tea bags. Let simmer for a few minutes. (Here is where you decide how long according to how strong you like your tea). Squeeze out the tea bags and remove them from sauce pan (or whatever you are using to make the tea). Then add all the spices. Allow it to sit and simmer a bit. Then add the milk and let it simmer gently. Add sweetener of your choice. Serve and enjoy!
The original recipe said to use “2 tea bags (black, green, redbush, etc.)” so I it seems you can use whatever you like. If green does not agree with you, then don’t use it.
I think this makes a very yummy tea. And I call it Chai because that is what the recipe said when I first got it. One thing I do like to do while drinking this tea is stir often. I want to drink the spices and get their flavor. When all the spices end up at the bottom of the mug it is not as flavorful a cup of tea. Plus in order to get the benefits from the spices you need to drink them.
One day when I tweeted out that I was making Chai someone responded that she makes it every day and she adds fennel. I have yet to try that. I don’t see why you can’t add anything you want. This is just a starting place . . . .
So . . . . . tell me what you think? Do you like it? What changes did YOU make to make it “Chai Tea Latte For You”?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
Mariann said
I have been looking for a recipe for Chai tea. Thank you for posting this, my search is over. I’ve tried a few tea bag versions, and they fell short on flavor.
I also agree with you about drinking in the spices to get fuller benefits. This is my year for searching new favors in teas and cooking spices. 🙂
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terrepruitt said
Great. I hope it works for you. I tried a bag tea, too, and you are right, the flavor fell short. I ended up putting more spices in it!
FUN year ahead for you! I am just learning about cumin! It seems to be an ingredient in chili so most people know about it. I am not a chili fan at all . . . . so it is new to me! And I am putting it in different things. You are always welcome back to share you new flavors and recipes!
Let us know what adjustments you make to this tea.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
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niachick said
I wouldn’t make any changes to your recipe. It sounds outstandingly aromatic and flavorful to me. I love chai tea lattes…my mouth is watering. Cardamom is one of my very favorite spices…and cinnamon…and ginger…YOU ROCK!!!
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terrepruitt said
Well, I am not sure if you noticed but the original recipe came from “our” Danielle Woermann! My original Chai Tea Latte post explained how I was complaining about the ones I had gotten from Starbucks and she posted a Chai Tea recipe on Facebook. I thought it was not flavorful enough so I had been experimenting and the “Chai Tea Latte For Me” is the recipe I have settled on. I have been cutting it in half and it works great!
I don’t know what to do with cardamom. I only use it in the Chai Tea. I am using ginger more (I have a post coming up about that)!
Thank you so much for reading and commenting. I saw that I had five comments and I thought, “Yeah, they are probably all spam.” I was SOOOOO excited to click over to see they were real AND (even more exciting) they were from you! Thank you soooooo much. MUAH!
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niachick said
I love checking out your blog posts when I have a minute. I miss so many of them…well not “miss” them totally — I do file them in my “Terre’s blog” folder and then go back and read them when I have some time. I only use cardamom for chai tea, too, but my husband uses it as a spice in his beef stew. Adds an extra little yummy taste to an already yummy meal. He’s the main chef around here. I cook the turkey breast on Thanksgiving and Christmas. He cooks breakfast, lunch and dinner all other days for which I am forever grateful!!!
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terrepruitt said
Thank you. I love to read your blog too, when you post! Hopefully the categories on my blog help you to find ones you missed that you might be interested in. Like the Nia ones! Wow! My blog has a folder! Yay!
I don’t even know what cardamom tastes like. I guess it is a good stew spice. 🙂
You are blessed to have a cooking man! Awesome!
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