Chai Tea Concentrate

In today's ever-expanding market for overpriced coffee and energy drinks, the perfect pick-me-up is a balance of taste and caffeine. Some people require their daily fix from a Ginormous Triple Caramel Crapafrappacino with extra whip.  Others are fine drinking the watery sludge that comes out of the office drip coffee machine. For me, it's a nice periodic boost from a creamy, spicy chai tea latte.  You see, I have a funny relationship with caffeine. I avoid caffeinated coffee at all times, since it tends to make my head spin and my heart feel funny. I can't even take headache medication with caffeine in it because it makes my heart race. However, on those days that I need to find a little energy boost, I discovered one drink that always has the perfect effect: chai Tea Latte. Around the house, it has become a little bit of a joke. All it takes is one $4 cup of my "performance enhancing drugs" and I become a whirlwind of focus and energy. I use its effects to help me clean the house, organize my office, and accomplish other tedious household tasks.  What this effect says about my neurochemistry can be up for debate among my friends.

As for taste, I guess I first fell in love with chai tea while getting my undergraduate degree. I found a small coffee shop on campus that had the creamiest, most delicious chai tea that I had ever tasted. I also became enamored by the idea of making my own after visiting an Indian friend one winter break. Now, almost 10 years later (geez, has it been that long already?!) and many trips to Starbucks I decided to go ahead and make my own. The result was a quick and easy chai tea concentrate that is as delicious (if not more so) than Starbucks.

Chai Tea Concentrate
Yields: 4 cups of concentrate, making about 8 cups of latte
Ingredients:
12 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
8 whole black peppercorns
8 whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks (use one less if you have really large sticks)
2 star anise
2 tablespoons of brown sugar, or more to taste
4 inch chunk of fresh ginger (or enough that would equal about 4 inches)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
4 cups of water
8 black teabags

Directions:
Place all of the spices and the water in a pot. Bring the water to a boil, and then turn to medium-high to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and place the teabags in the water to seep for 5 minutes. Strain and reserve the liquid, discarding the solids. Allow to cool to room temperature before placing in an air tight container. This can be refrigerated and saved for up to a week.

To make a chai tea latte, add equal parts concentrate and milk. It is good for both iced and heated drinks. I also like to add a drop of vanilla extract to mine. Optionally you could instead add a whole vanilla bean to the cooking process to add the vanilla flavor. To make a fancy latte, add a bit of foamed milk to the top of the drink.

Adapted from: gimme some oven