Algarvespice

Still not sure how to rate this, made another batch with some Ceylon tea. And I still love the chai process, but oh this is not comparing too favourably with the tea which has made me crave chai: yesterday´s Chandernagor. Sadly since I was hoping to find a cheaper replacement for it since I had only got 50 grams of Chandernagor (it is not going to last very long) but the ginger is too dominant, the cardamom too rough, no way as smooth as what I was hoping to replace. Oh well.

But it is still very drinkable. And am now toying with the idea of trying to make my own chai spice.

Now this is interesting – it´s not tea itself, not on its own. It´s a mix of spices which you add to regular black tea (they say breakfast mixes, I cheated and used some single estate ceylon) and brew it indian style to make a proper chai. The instructions are: mix milk with water, add a little bit of sugar or honey as well as this chai mix and have it simmer over fire for some minutes, then add some black tea and have it simmer for 5 or 10 minutes. It gets thicker indeed, and very very different from usual tea. I liked it a lot, though not at all sure how to rate this or even review it – rather than a tea this seems to be all about the brewing process. The mix of spices is rather nice – cocoa, cinnamon, cloves and a few more things. Next time I make this will add a cardamom pod as well for extra kick.