Best Sweet Chai

This delicious sweet chai recipe is a terrific warmer on a cold winter day, and just as delicious served ice cold in the summer.
• 1 coffee pot of water
o 12 cups, 2 liters-ish
• 2 Tbs Assam Tea leaves, loose
o available at several Asian stores around town or on Amazon.
o Other tea leaves like Lipton etc can be used but the taste will be different
 Quantities will also be different for more finely chopped leaves
• 2 tsp dried orange peel
• 1 tsp anise seed
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6-12 cloves (depending on your taste)
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp allspice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
o Can also use regular milk, half & half or evaporated milk and add sugar to your taste
o Heavy cream tastes good in this too, but leaves an oily feel to the mouth that not everyone likes

Other Equipment: drip coffee maker, fine mesh strainer, rubber spatula, pitcher or container to mix in.

1. Put water in coffee maker
2. Add tea leaves to filter in basket.
3. Put all spices in the pot.
4. Turn on coffee maker.
5. Once it is finished brewing let it sit in the spices for a minimum of 30-minutes but not more than two-hours.
a. If left longer than two hours it will grow hazy
b. It is not spoiled and is still plenty drinkable.
c. If left too long it becomes bitter as it sits on the spices
d. The color of the left too long tea may also be weirdly disconcerting to some folks.
6. Put the fine mesh strainer over the pitcher and pour the coffee and spices through
a. This will remove most of the spices
b. The larger ones at least
c. If you want to get the allspice and nutmeg out use finer mesh or cheesecloth
7. Add the sweetened condensed milk
a. Use the rubber spatula to get all of the sticky goodness out of the can.
8. Stir until well mixed
9. Serve hot and steamy
a. let the deliciously aromatic goodness seep into your soul
10. OR put it into a pitcher and refrigerate for a deliciously sweet cold drink
a. Guaranteed to bring feelings of having drunk something really good


Enjoy!