This recipe, an altered version of my basic chai, incorporates flavors and aromas of Fall. The smokiness of Lapsang Souchong black tea, traditionally smoke-dried over pinewood, brings out a fragrance reminiscent of campfires and time spent in the woods. Replacing cardamom powder with cracked black cardamom pods adds a savory, more complex spice flavor that balances the sweetness of the maple syrup. The...
My current favorite summer drink is homemade chai with coffee cubes. The combination of the sweet chai and the strong coffee makes for a very dynamic drinking experience. At first, the creamy chai is the overwhelming flavor. Slowly, the coffee cubes melt into the milky tea, mellowing out the sweetness and bringing out a new flavor combination. This particular recipe combines iced caramel...
Last week I made my first attempt at vanilla chai. Pretty good for a first try but the recipe needs some tweaking. I loved the flavor combination of the cardamom and vanilla but it wasn't quite as spicy as I would have liked. Next time I'll add more pepper, possibly some ginger, and will even out the milk to water ratio. --- I...
Lately I've been experimenting with homemade spiced chai recipes. I've made a handful of small batches, adding and subtracting different spices, testing different kinds of milk, and playing around with steeping methods. This weekend, I made a fresh batch and I think I'm quite close to perfecting the recipe! I'll post my version as soon as I nail it down. While the chai...
