Not with milk this evening, as we do not have any at home. Unknown age tea bag, but it sill looks very good. Dry leaf aroma was gingerbread.
I am awake for longer time than I should. Just short naps in meantime. This is crazy. I wanted to sleep, but I was browsing the ´net instead. I feel super tired, but not sleepy.
Anyway. Tea time. Do not expect much.
Aroma went towards ginger, maybe bit of cinnamon. The colour of liquor is dark brown, opaque, with some dust on top.
It is still too hot! I want to drink it and feel asleep. While I wanted to take first sip, my brother who is sitting 2 metres away said “It smells wonderful”. Probably a good sign. It went bit colder now, bit drinkable. It tastes pretty strong, like assam tea, with sweetness of cinnamon and astringency by ginger. But 3-4 minutes will turn that tea bitter. I made again an half and it is just right. Why it reminds me now a milled poppy seed (I love it by the way)?
Anyway, I hope it won´t wake me up much and it is going to wam me inside a bit. Bit above average, I think I will try to make my own soon. I have that Ceylon tea, which is quite big package, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, all should be affordable. Cardamom, that sounds bit tough. Have you guys have experience with your own blends of chai?
Making my own chai spice blend was really the only way to go. I made a big tin a few years ago of whole spices that I ground. Wish I could tell you what’s in besides loads of black pepper! You can find whole green cardamom pods and seed powder at Indian markets for much cheaper than at a supermarket. Black cardamom seeds can be used, too, but they impart a dark, resinous, smokey flavor versus the sweet green cardamom seeds.
I have made my own chai spices in the past because I did not care for lots of black pepper! Weird, I know, because most people love the black pepper in chai! I loved the cardamom and cinnamon most, with a little ginger and sometimes nutmeg.