Chai Tea

1. Combine water and milk in saucepan and bring to a simmer slowly overmedium-low heat. 2. Meanwhile, combine cardamom, peppercorns, cloves, anise seeds, andcinnamon bark in mortar and pestle and crush until peppercorns are crackedand cardamom pods are opened to reveal the seeds. 3. Add tea leaves, crushed spices, ginger, and vanilla bean to the pot. (Itdoesn?t have to be simmering when you add these.) 4. Maintain a simmer for 5 minutes, or longer, to your desired strength. Addhoney and stir well. Take off the heat. 5. Strain tea into each tea cup, then sprinkle with nutmeg (if desired). Thetea you leave in the pot (covered) will continue to strengthen and developflavor. 6. *You may be concerned, as I am, about children drinking this tea due tothe caffeine. Well, I have the answer! It is really easy to decaffeinateyour own tea leaves. I found this information in the Fall 2009 issue of theWeston A Price Foundation?s quarterly journal, Wise Traditions. John Moodyshared how to accomplish this in an article about continuous brew Kombucha.You simply steep your tea leaves in water just off the boil for threeminutes. Then discard the water and use the tea leaves in your tea. At thispoint, they?ll be 40% to 70% less caffeinated but still flavorful. Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)---------------------------------------------- Calories: 5 Calories From Fat: 2 Total Fat: <1g Sodium: 3.4mg Potassium: 15.4mg Carbohydrates: <1g Fiber: <1g Protein: <1g Recipe Author: By Wardeh on November 18, 2009 Author Note: Homemade chai tea? friends served it to us once and ever since,I?ve wanted to make it myself. Then my friend Cheryl mentioned last weekthat she?d been making it in the evenings. That was enough inspiration toget me going. I looked around the internet last week and collected recipesthat I thought looked traditional in their use of whole spices and qualityblack tea. I asked on Facebook and twitter for ideas and friends (likeShila) shared their favorite recipes. Author Note: I don?t claim to be an expert on chai ? well, only on enjoyingit! What I did to make this recipe was take what I thought was best abouteach recipe and put it together. That translates as: using almost everyspice I saw mentioned, besides the ?usual? cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Iordered all my whole spices and black tea from Mountain Rose Herbs. Theorder arrived in record time and every item is wonderful ? high quality,organic, and fragrant. Author Note: My friend Cheryl uses Assam Breakfast tea as the black teabase. I made some Chai with that, but I also tried a few batches withCeylon. They?re both wonderfully tasty!