Since my wife loves chai lattes from Starbucks, we decided to try our hand
at making our own chai mix. Found a good recipe in a coffee-table book we
have. The mix seems pretty good, but I'm skeptical about the brewing method
the book says to use.

It says to mix equal parts water and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil,
then steep the tea mixture in the milk/water. Doesn't heating the milk in
this way scorch it? And isn't there some chemical process that happens with
the milk and tea (something about polyphenols and milk solids) that might
interfere with the infusion?

Thanks for any hints about brewing the chai.

While intrepidly exploring rec.food.drink.tea, Robert Choate rolled
initiative and posted the following:

> It says to mix equal parts water and milk in a saucepan and bring
> to a boil, then steep the tea mixture in the milk/water. Doesn't
> heating the milk in this way scorch it?

It can, which is why you have to STIR the mixture.

I've brought milk to a bubbly boil withouth scorching it. But I was
stiring constantly.

--
Derek

Before you attempt to beat the odds, be sure you could survive the odds
beating you.

Robert Choate > wrote in message
...
> Since my wife loves chai lattes from Starbucks, we decided to try our hand
> at making our own chai mix. Found a good recipe in a coffee-table book we
> have. The mix seems pretty good, but I'm skeptical about the brewing
method
> the book says to use.
>
> It says to mix equal parts water and milk in a saucepan and bring to a
boil,
> then steep the tea mixture in the milk/water. Doesn't heating the milk in
> this way scorch it? And isn't there some chemical process that happens
with
> the milk and tea (something about polyphenols and milk solids) that might
> interfere with the infusion?
>
> Thanks for any hints about brewing the chai.
>

I am new to the tea scene but have discovered my family and myself love chai
tea with steam milk. We have been looking for a recipe on the net but
haven't found we like. We have been using Lipton's lately. Would you mind
post your recipe. Thanks Terry
>

> I am new to the tea scene but have discovered my family and myself love
chai
> tea with steam milk. We have been looking for a recipe on the net but
> haven't found we like. We have been using Lipton's lately. Would you mind
> post your recipe. Thanks Terry

I would be happy to. This is the recipe we used:

3 Tablespoons green cardamom seeds (or about 1 1/2 T powdered)
1 Tablespoon whole cloves
1 Tablespoon whole black peppercorns
2 four-inch cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons powder ginger root

Grind the spices with a mortar and pestle, or in a coffee grinder. Toss
mixture with one cup of black tea leaves.

We boiled 50/50 water and milk, removed from heat and steeped the chai
mixture for five minutes. A few teaspoons of sugar made a very nice cup.
The black pepper was quite strong in this recipe, so reduce to your taste if
desired. I still wonder if steeping the tea in milk is proper and hope
someone else can answer.

Robert Choate > wrote in message
...
> > I am new to the tea scene but have discovered my family and myself love
> chai
> > tea with steam milk. We have been looking for a recipe on the net but
> > haven't found we like. We have been using Lipton's lately. Would you
mind
> > post your recipe. Thanks Terry
>
> I would be happy to. This is the recipe we used:
>
> 3 Tablespoons green cardamom seeds (or about 1 1/2 T powdered)
> 1 Tablespoon whole cloves
> 1 Tablespoon whole black peppercorns
> 2 four-inch cinnamon sticks
> 2 teaspoons powder ginger root
>
> Grind the spices with a mortar and pestle, or in a coffee grinder. Toss
> mixture with one cup of black tea leaves.
>
> We boiled 50/50 water and milk, removed from heat and steeped the chai
> mixture for five minutes. A few teaspoons of sugar made a very nice cup.
> The black pepper was quite strong in this recipe, so reduce to your taste
if
> desired. I still wonder if steeping the tea in milk is proper and hope
> someone else can answer.
>
Robert
Thanks for the recipe which I am going to try. Like I stated earlier we use
Lipton bags. We make it by brewing the tea a usual but strong (two tea bags
per cup) in sauce pan then in another cup add about 3/4 cup of steamed milk
then fill the remainder with the tea with a teaspoon of sugar. I have a
cappuccino machine to steam the milk which makes the milk part easier.
Terry
>

The recipe you included is quite interesting. I've been drinking a
pre-packaged "Chai" called Original Mountain Chai, from Celestial
Seasonings.

In addition to the ingredients you list below, they have roasted chicory
root, nutmeg, star anise, and vanilla bean.

the order of ingredients they list is

Black tea, cinnamon, ginger root, roasted chicory root, cloves, cardamon,
"natural flavors", nutmeg, black pepper, star anise, and vanilla bean.

their recommended preparation is to steep, then add the milk. I usually just
heat a pan of milk and throw a few of the tea bags in at the beginning. a
layer of milk film forms at the top, which I remove at the same time as
removing the tea bags.

this plus honey is about as good as it gets, if you like this sort of thing.




"Robert Choate" > wrote in message
...
> > I am new to the tea scene but have discovered my family and myself love
> chai
> > tea with steam milk. We have been looking for a recipe on the net but
> > haven't found we like. We have been using Lipton's lately. Would you
mind
> > post your recipe. Thanks Terry
>
> I would be happy to. This is the recipe we used:
>
> 3 Tablespoons green cardamom seeds (or about 1 1/2 T powdered)
> 1 Tablespoon whole cloves
> 1 Tablespoon whole black peppercorns
> 2 four-inch cinnamon sticks
> 2 teaspoons powder ginger root
>
> Grind the spices with a mortar and pestle, or in a coffee grinder. Toss
> mixture with one cup of black tea leaves.
>
> We boiled 50/50 water and milk, removed from heat and steeped the chai
> mixture for five minutes. A few teaspoons of sugar made a very nice cup.
> The black pepper was quite strong in this recipe, so reduce to your taste
if
> desired. I still wonder if steeping the tea in milk is proper and hope
> someone else can answer.
>
>

"Robert Choate" > wrote in message
...
> Since my wife loves chai lattes from Starbucks, we decided to try our hand
> at making our own chai mix. Found a good recipe in a coffee-table book we
> have. The mix seems pretty good, but I'm skeptical about the brewing
method
> the book says to use.
>
> It says to mix equal parts water and milk in a saucepan and bring to a
boil,
> then steep the tea mixture in the milk/water. Doesn't heating the milk in
> this way scorch it? And isn't there some chemical process that happens
with
> the milk and tea (something about polyphenols and milk solids) that might
> interfere with the infusion?

The way I do it, I learned from Indian folks:

Having your chai masala (spice) mix, add one teaspoon for every 2 cups cold
water. Bring to boil, add 4 tsp. loose black tea or 4 teabags (per 2c
water) Keep on heat and boil for 15 seconds or so. Remve from heat, steep
1 minute, strain leaves from tea. Add sugar or honey to taste. Mix with
milk which was heated in a separate saucepan, 1:1 ratio is good though I
tend to add a little less milk.

I like this way best because I can adjust the amount of milk for individual
tastes. The 1 minute steep sounds low but I think the 15 sec boil gets
things going pretty fast, I've tried this with English Breakfast, Assam and
Ceylon and had good results with each kind.

-ben

RN > wrote:

> I am new to the tea scene but have discovered my family and myself love chai
> tea with steam milk. We have been looking for a recipe on the net but
> haven't found we like. We have been using Lipton's lately. Would you mind
> post your recipe. Thanks Terry

Here's another recipe:

2.3.2. Masala chai

Masala chai, or spiced tea, hails from the Indian subcontinent. There
are almost as many recipes for masala chai as there are drinkers of it.
The following recipe is not claimed to be definitive; it just happens
to be my favorite. Adjust to your own specifications.

Makes: 2 large mugs

2.5 cups (570 ml) water
6-8 green cardamom pods
5-6 whole black peppercorns
1-2 slices fresh ginger, peeled and diced
1 stick cinnamon, 1-2 inches long
1-2 cloves
2/3 cup (175 ml) milk
4 tsp sugar
2-3 tsp loose black tea (preferably India or Ceylon)

Put the water in a saucepan, add the spices, and bring to a boil.
Turn down the heat and let simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Add milk
and sugar and bring to a boil (or heavy simmer). Add tea, turn
off the heat, and let infuse for two to three minutes. Strain into
two cups and serve hot.

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On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 07:07:31 -0600, "Edward Bertsch" >
wrote:

>The recipe you included is quite interesting. I've been drinking a
>pre-packaged "Chai" called Original Mountain Chai, from Celestial
>Seasonings.
>
>In addition to the ingredients you list below, they have roasted chicory
>root, nutmeg, star anise, and vanilla bean.
>
>the order of ingredients they list is
>
>Black tea, cinnamon, ginger root, roasted chicory root, cloves, cardamon,
>"natural flavors", nutmeg, black pepper, star anise, and vanilla bean.
>
>their recommended preparation is to steep, then add the milk. I usually just
>heat a pan of milk and throw a few of the tea bags in at the beginning. a
>layer of milk film forms at the top, which I remove at the same time as
>removing the tea bags.


My Indian friends did it this way. They put the tea bags and unground
spices in the water and heated it a short time, then added the milk and
sugar and let the whole thing simmer for half an hour.

When I'm lazy I make the tea separate in a pot and just put the milk in
the cup and microwave it, but I think the flavors blend better when the
milk is stewed a long time with the tea.

I also wonder about chemical changes in the milk. It seems to be easier
to digest when stewed with the tea than when added later. I wonder if it
also changes the lactose content.


Mary