Chai Tea recipes?

[Aeris]

Hey all! I've started making my own chai tea at home. It's a lot cheaper, and I feel like I'm able to get away from the 'lightly flavored milk' feel of the starbucks ones, and really amp up the spice and flavor.

Anyone have a good recipe they use? Tips and tricks?

Also, I make it and then refrigerate it for iced chai. Right now I'm adding cold milk when I actually poor the tea, but I've seen some recipes that suggest adding the milk in at the beginning, while it's on the stovetop, and simmering/steeping the tea/spices in both the milk and the water, then letting the whole thing cool down. Any thoughts on which is better?

[blarg314]

A very classic spice combination in India is cardamon and fresh ginger.

Black pepper makes a very good addition, if used in moderation.

I usually steep the tea and spices first, and add the milk near the end, to avoid burning it. For iced, you could do either way, but if fridge space or storage time is an issue, adding the milk before you drink it should work okay once you calibrate how strong the tea needs to be.