Vegan MoFo: Homemade Chai

Confession time.  I'm Amanda and I'm a chai-aholic.  I'm also pretty opinionated when it comes to ingredients in my chai.  I like a super peppery and sweet, not too clove-y chai.  And I definitely don't like wintergreen in my chai.

Now that we have that out of the way, would you like to see how I prepare chai at home?  I'm sure it's not traditional, but it's pretty great if the above chai guidelines work for you.

You'll need a smallish saucepan, a mortar and pestle (or something to grind/pummel spices), fine-meshed strainer, and something like a pitcher into which you'll transfer hot liquid.
Makes 7 3/4 cups tea!

Ingredients:
20 green cardamom pods
1 1/2 tsp peppercorns (I usually use black, but today used tri-colored)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
5 pieces crystalized ginger, ripped into pieces
1 bay leaf
6 cups water
8 cloves
1 stick cinnamon
4 tsp loose black tea (Assam works the best)
sugar to taste (I used 7+ teaspoons)
1 1/2 cups rice milk
1/2 cup soy creamer or soy milk

1.  Beat up the cardamom, peppercorns, and cumin.

Before/ After the spice beating.

2.  Bring water to a boil in the pan, then reduce to a summer.  Add the cardamom, peppercorns, cumin, ginger, and bay leaf.  Simmer for 20 minutes.

Before/ After 20-minute simmer sesh.

3. After 20 minutes, throw in the cloves, cinnamon, and tea.  Let brew for 2 minutes.

4.  Pour liquid through the strainer over a pitcher (make sure the pitcher can handle hot liquids!).  Discard the spices and tea.

5.  Pour the tea back into the pan and add the sugar and milk.  Heat through and serve!