Iced Chai Latte

I'm not a coffee drinker (although there have been exceptions lately) and so any summer visit to Starbucks inevitably has me debating between one of their blended fruity frappucinos, or an iced chai. Most of the time, the iced chai wins. What doesn't win is my wallet - CHF 6.80 for some cold tea and a splash of milk? Ouch. Since the closest Starbucks is all the way in the city, I had added incentive to try and re-create this favorite at home.

The easiest way, of course, would be to buy some chai teabags and use those with milk and ice, but I often find the flavor of store-bought chai tastes more like a plain cinnamon tea than a complex mix of different spices. Using whole and fresh spices really made a big difference to the final flavor, and of course you can customize it according to your tastes.

The final product turned out sweetly spicy, wonderfully refreshing, and much cheaper than a visit to The Cash-Munching Coffee Temple. I especially liked pouring the milk into the chai and watching the two cloud together in pretty swirls before stirring.

Iced Chai Latte

6 cups water

2 cinnamon sticks
1 thumb-length chunk of ginger root, minced
12 whole cloves

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

10 cardamom pods, crushed so seeds spill out
2 bay leaves
2/3 cup white sugar

2 tbsp loose black tea leaves (I used Darjeeling)
ice and cold whole milk for serving

Heat the water, spices, and sugar in a saucepan until boiling, then turn down heat, add tea leaves, and let simmer for 10 minutes (this makes your kitchen smell fantastic). Remove from heat and let stand until room temperature, or overnight for an even stronger flavor. Strain liquid into a pitcher, refrigerate until chilled. Fill tall glasses with ice and mix 3 parts tea to 1 part milk (adjust according to taste).

Variations: You could add half a split vanilla pod to the simmering liquid to make vanilla chai, or sweeten with honey instead of sugar. You can also forego the chilling and just make the drink in a mug for a hot chai latte. And if you're really feeling on a spice kick you might even want to make some of Anita's beautiful chocolate chai cupcakes to go along with it...