So here's my basic recipe, followed by some shortcuts and variations. This recipe can be doubled or even trebled without negative effect.
Combine in cook pot:
3 cups water
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
2 small sticks of cinnamon
8 cardamon pods, broken open
ground ginger to taste
Cover, bring to boil, then simmer on low, 30 min.
Add 1 black tea bag & simmer another 3-5 min.
Strain, then return liquid to pot.
Add to liquid:
1 Tbls. maple syrup
1/2 cup milk
Brown sugar to taste
Bring just to boil, then remove from heat. Serve immediately.
When I triple this recipe, I start with 10 cups of water, a Tbls. of cloves and peppercorn, and 3 long cinnamon sticks, broken into three parts each. Sometimes I use fresh ginger instead of powdered, and I break the cardamon up in a mortar and pestle, throwing both the seeds AND the pods into the water.
I'm pretty loosy-goosy about the time factor, especially after I've added the tea bags. Sometimes I use 2 Chai tea bags and 2 black tea, but if using just black, I stick with 3 bags for the triple recipe instead of four.
I haven't had any maple syrup in the house for awhile, so instead, I make my own dark brown sugar by combining pale brown sugar and dark (blackstrap) molasses, and I add it until I like the taste. I don't add milk at all, preferring to put that in when I'm ready to drink the chai.
The ratio of chai to milk is 1:1, so I fill a cup half full of chai, top it off with milk, then heat the whole thing in the microwave or on the stove until hot. And SOMEtimes I throw a marshmallow in, too!
