Cookbook:One Cup Chai

This is a simple guide to brewing one cup's worth of chai.

Ingredients

 * ¾ cup water
 * 1 tablespoon milk
 * 1 tablespoon honey
 * 1 teaspoon earl grey tea leaves
 * 6 cardamom seeds
 * 8 cloves
 * 3 black peppercorns
 * 1 cinnamon stick (or ½ teaspoon of cinnamon sugar)

Procedure

 * 1) Place the water in a pot on the stovetop on the lowest setting, or just below a boil. The more you let evaporate, the stronger the chai's flavor will be.
 * 2) If you have a mortar and pestle, mash the cardamom seeds, cloves, and black pepper corns together. If you do not have a mortar and pestle, then de-shell the cardamom seeds and consider using a pepper grinder. If you have cinnamon stick, break it into four pieces, if you have cinnamon sugar, put it in the water now. Put all of the spices in the water, as well as the honey. Mix well so that the honey dissolves into the water.
 * 3) Stir, occasionally smelling or tasting a bit of the chai. If the spices are not strong enough, then let it brew longer or add more spices. Usually, it takes 5–10 minutes for all of the spices to let their flavor out.
 * 4) Once you are satisfied with the spices, add the tea. Depending on how long you leave the tea in, it will be stronger.
 * 5) At this point, the chai is probably a bit strong and may have a bitter flavor (though the honey will often make it a bit sweeter). Bring the chai to a simmer at this point, so that the milk doesn't make it too cold. Don't cook it too much—it may all evaporate or the spices may overpower it!
 * 6) Take the pot off of the stove. Put a strainer on top of an empty pot or pan. Dump your concoction into the strainer, so that all the liquid pours into the pot or pan below it. Put the hot pan or pot back on the stove so it doesn't crack or melt your counter top.
 * 7) Pour some milk in a mug/teacup. Then pour the strained tea into the milk (we do this so the milk is not scalded and flavorless).
 * 8) If it is too bitter, consider adding a little bit of honey or making changes to the ingredients list.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * There may be some spice residue floating around in your chai. You can get rid of it using a finer sieve, but it adds flavor and isn't going to hurt anyone.