A Very Good Chai Recipe

OK folks, every time I make chai for an event people ask for the recipe. So here it is, this recipe has won contests. May you go forth and make the world a better place 1 cup of tea at a time.

This makes about a gallon, which is NEVER enough but feel free to trim it down if you must.

-Bring 3.5 qts of water to a full rolling boil, then add:

About 10 black tea bags or about 1 cup of very strong black tea (not earl grey or anything like that, english breakfast works well)

10 cardamon pods

2 inches of fresh ginger sliced thin

5 cloves

10 black pepper corns

1 small stick of cinnamon

1 vanilla pod (or tsp. of extract...not as good though)

*optional - 2 star anise or a pinch of saffron - I always add saffron...always.

1 quart milk
sugar - you choose the amount

*optional - sweetened condensed milk (about 3/4 of a can) is a nice way to take care of both the sugar and milk.

If you mess around with, oh! sorry, experiment with non dairy milks or different sweeteners, it is Boulder after all (I used organic raw cane sugar and organic whole milk), I can make no promises of the results.

Rolling boil everything for about 15 min. / stir occasionally to make sure nothing is burning on the bottom then let it cool down for at least half an hour (longer is fine) then bring it to a boil again and serve.