This is one of my favorite treats–spicy and creamy and delicious. I used to buy Tazo Tea’s chai latte concentrate, but it’s expensive ($5/container) and transporting that much liquid cross country wastes a lot of fuel. SO, I found some recipes on the internet for how to make it yourself.
You’ll need to assemble a bunch of whole spices and your tea bags/loose tea:
The recipe also calls for fresh ginger, and may call for additional spices (one I found calls for fennel which would double up on the licorice flavor in my opinion.) The best place I have found to get all these spices and not break the bank, is to go to an Indian grocery. They sell the spices in BULK, and the prices are SO MUCH BETTER than the regular grocery store. I use Luzianne decaf family sized tea bags–since I drink it cold, and try to avoid caffeine after lunch.
So, once you find a recipe that you like for Chai Latte Concentrate, gather all your spices and measure your whole spices into a large ziploc bag and break them into small pieces with a rolling pin. Put those in a saucepan with your water and ginger and follow the directions from there. The photo below makes 4 batches. I usually only use half the water that the recipe calls for on the stove and add the rest of the water once I strain the liquid into a pitcher.
I don’t add the sugar that the recipe calls for. Instead, I use a vanilla coffee syrup for the sweetness and the vanilla. I found this one at TJ Maxx, but any one that you like is fine.
I enjoyed drinking this while I was making Masoor Dal–a delicious spicy red lentil stew. My house smelled amazing!
Cathy At Home on the River 