I love to wake up on quiet weekend mornings and brew chai in my nana’s teapot. I dislike the store provided tea bags because they taste artificial—like overly spiced sugar cookies. It takes a little more patience to brew it at home, but I found a way to make a cheat version that is easy and heavenly. I normally put it into my Yeti every morning before work. On my days off, I brew double the amount in my teapot. No simmering necessary.
I enjoy practicing ancestral veneration as I brew chai using the tools of both of my grandmothers. While one grandmother has the teapot, the other lends me her wedding china and silver utensils. I like to stir my ingredients to the left, which clears away negative energy, releases stressors, and banishes poor habits. I am reminded that I am not alone and that I have work to do and a life to enjoy.
Ingredients
- 415 millimeters (1.75 cups/16 oz) boiling water
- 6 grams loose Irish Breakfast Black Tea or Assam Tea (or 3 tea bags)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 8 cardamom pods (lightly crushed with a mortar and pestle)
- 2 cloves (whole)
- Sweetened condensed milk to taste
Instructions
- In a whistling tea kettle, heat at least 700 ml (3 cups) water and bring to a boil.
- Place the tea leaves, cinnamon stick, crushed cardamom, and cloves into a teapot or 16 oz insulated vessel. Pour 415 ml (1.75 cups/16 oz) of the water into the teapot or vessel. Allow the chai to steep covered for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add sweetened condensed milk to taste.
- Enjoy, being careful while sipping.
