Asian Chai Tea

Mostly fresh ingredients you can either grow or buy at your local supermarket, this tea to die for! Simple to make, easy to dry or freeze and keep ahead in batches, this is one of my top 3 favorite teas. Makes about 8 to 12 cups, depending upon how strong you like your tea. As a footnote, one and a half teaspoon makes about 1 small cup of tea.

Tools:

• Pyrex style teapot with removable infuser
• Regular metal teapot
• Mandolin, Cheese grater or Coffee Grinder
• Mortar and Pestle
• Cutting board and good, sharp knife

Ingredients

• 3 fresh stalks lemon grass (or frozen from your garden)
• 2 sticks cinnamon bark
• 1 tsp cardamom seeds
• 1 inch length of fresh ginger root
• 3 or 4 allspice seeds, whole

Rinse the lemon grass in ice cold water and let dry on a paper towel. Grate the cinnamon bark sticks on a mandolin, catching the pieces in a dish placed underneath. Set aside. Place lemon grass on cutting board and remove the darkest green of the tops and discard. Slice the remainder of the lemongrass coarsely, and place them in the same dish as the cinnamon bark. Do the same with the ginger root, chopping coarsely. Put the allspice and cardamom seeds into the mortar and pestle, and crush until coarsely broken. Remove them and now crush the chopped ginger and lemongrass in the mortar.

Mix well all ingredients together in bowl. Choose amount you wish to use, and place in the glass tea infuser of the pyrex tea pot (depends on the size of your teapot) and set aside. Boil fresh water in the regular teapot and pour through strainer placed in glass pyrex tea kettle. Let steep about 6 minutes. Serve with honey and/or cream.

Note:
You can make larger batches ahead and freeze them in snack baggies, or dry them in a food dehydrator or warm oven.

Tags: ginger cinnamon tea, ginger cinnamon tea asian style chai teas, chai tea, recipes, homemade recipes, recipes, lemongrass, cardamom, cinnamon,