A Cup of Goodness

My last post was about the cold, wet weather and here is a cup of goodness to warm you up from head to toe.  This is a very tasty recipe and the good thing is you can sweeten it to your liking. I love Chai but find it is often too sweet when I purchase it a coffee shops. Enjoy!  

Masala Chai

Makes 2 cups

1/2 cup of water
1/1/2 cups of whole milk
1 star anise
1 1/2 heaping spoonfuls of loose leaf black tea, such as Darjeeling (or 2 tea bags)
1 small 1/2 inch of ginger, peeled
5 green cardamom pods
2 whole cloves
1/2 cinnamon stick
3 tsps of sugar or to taste

Lightly crush the cardamom pods so the seeds are exposed. Place the star anise, cardomom pods, ginger, cloves and cinnamon in a small pot and cover with 1/2 cup of water and bring to a gentle boil. Boil for around 10 minutes, then add the milk and tea.

Keep on a low heat so that the milk is scalding (make sure it doesn’t boil). Steep the tea for about 10 minutes. Add a couple spoonfuls of sugar. Pour through a strainer into cups and enjoy!