I’ve been in a bit of a coffee and tea rut lately. Tea has been my thing-usually green or roiboos. When I’m out and about, I do love to savor a soy chai or latte. I don’t really like milk for many reasons, and I try to avoid it. But after reading about all the cautions about soy, I’ve converted to almond milk. I find myself in a rut when I’m out and want that cuppa but don’t want soy or regular milk, so I decided to make my own chai. When visiting Bozeman this summer, I had the chance to spend time with my friend Vandana (who is working on a really cool project. She made us a great cup of chai, and I have been following her recipe. I love that it incorporates fresh ingredients that are incredibly good for you.
Ingredients: 1 inch fresh ginger, 2 whole cardamom seeds, loose black or Darjeeling tea, 3/4 cup milk (I use almond), 2 cups water, 1 tablespoon honey or sugar.
1. Dice ginger into small pieces.
2. Cut or open cardamom seeds and lightly crush seeds with knife or spoon.
3. Combine ginger, water and cardamom and boil for 3 minutes.
4. Add loose tea and milk and reduce heat to simmer for one minute.
5. Strain into a cup and add honey or sugar and enjoy on a cozy day!
I’m going to share very quick version of masala chai: you’ll need boiling water, a black tea bag, and one pod of cardamom. Boil the water, and just smash the cardamom’s outer shell, press a jar on it, or use your fingers. Drop that whole crushed seed and the tea bag into a cup, pour boiling water over it, then add the milk. Remove the bag and cardamom pod (with a spoon, or leave it in if you don’t mind). Voila – easy/peasy masala chai when you’re in a hurry but want that extra bit of aroma and flavor. Oh – and don’t spend tons of money at the regular grocery store on a slim bottle of white colored cardamom – go to the Indian grocery store and get a bag of green colored cardamom seeds for a cheaper price!
Raptors don’t like milk either, since as reptiles they don’t drink it. I think more raptors would drink rice milk instead of almond though.