starbucks got nuthin' on me

i made homemade chai this weekend.

i'd been putting it off, because it calls for cardamom. do you have any idea how expensive cardamom pods are? it's like, $13 for that glass jar. so expensive. then i realized that one chai from starbucks costs about $6, and since i only use less than a third of the seasoning per batch of homemade chai, it's waaaay cheaper to make your own. i didn't do the math. but probably it costs a few cents (definitely less than a dollar) for a cup of homemade awesomeness.

per my husband, it's the best chai he's ever had. take it for what it's worth.

here's how you can do it, too.

i don't remember where i found the recipe. i think i just changed a bunch of recipes. so we'll call this "erin's chai recipe"-- i'm so creative. seriously.

boil 10 cups of water with the following (all are approximate. do what you will with it.):
20-ish cardamom pods
24-ish whole cloves
1-2 t fennel seeds
a lot of cinnamon. i never measure, i just sprinkled a lot.
some ginger. see cinnamon, just in smaller quantity.

bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
add 3 cups milk and 10 black teabags. i used 2% milk, but skim would probably be good too, then it'd be that much healthier.

let it cool a little, then strain into a big pitcher. i used cheesecloth because i wanted to catch most of the smaller items, too. up to you. if you use cheesecloth, have your husband (or any available person) hold it for you and go slow or else it will spill over the counter.

clean up the mess. it makes a lot. we got a really big pitcher, and look how full it is!

i stored mine in the fridge. then you can have either iced chai, or you can heat it up for a bit in the microwave (like we did every night this weekend).
it's awesome.
one of the great things about this recipe is that it's totally customizable. you can use chocolate milk instead of regular. you can add vanilla or almond extract if that suits you. you can use peppermint tea instead of black tea. if you can dream it, you can chai it!
cheers!