Starbucks .. Eat ya heart out

It's 7:30 am, it's dark and its unbelievably cold. I don't do mornings or this arctic weather. What does help though on mornings like this is a well made cup of chai - a milky tea infused with mild spices

In an Asian household there is always that one person that won't settle for your boiled water based cuppa, in my house
it's my dear sister in law ( don't tell her I told you !)

As if I didn't love Starbucks enough (sorry Costa but you just don't do it for me) I'm loving that they have their take on our Chai, fortunately for my pocket but not for me * insert sad face here* the nearest Starbucks is Meadowhall and I can't bear to step out my front door and risk getting frostbite in this cold - so my own mug has to be made up.

So to warm yourselves up and save yourselves a few pennies, here's my concoction for chai per person:

• quarter fill your favourite cup or mug with water, place the water in a saucepan with a tea bag and bring to simmering point

•using the same cup pour a cup full of milk  ( full fat ) in the saucepan and keep simmering for about 10 minutes on a low heat

• next add 1 clove, 2 green cardamom pods, (give the pods a slight squeeze with your fingers so they open up a bit) a piece of cinnamon, (about 2cm) or if you've got ground cinnamon lying around a quarter of a tsp will do

• leave to simmer on a low heat till its darkened slightly in colour and its reduced by about half

• use a tea strainer to pour into your cup, that way you won't be having a fight picking the spices out ! So there you have it "one chai latte to go" (said in best barista voice possible)

you can experiment and adjust the spices to your liking.. I love cinnamon so I always add a bit extra. 

You can also use all milk for a full on latte flavour rather than half milk & half water.

For a cheeky treat i love to top it up with squirty cream & dust it with ground cinnamon