Ingredients
Total Time: 5 Minutes
1 cup water
1 cup evaporated milk (Nestle Carnation is best)
2 tsp loose leaf black tea (Assam is best)
3 green cardamom pods
1 or 2 whole cloves
2 coriander seeds
1/2″ broken piece of cinnamon stick
2 black peppercorns (or a couple twists of a peppercorn grinder)
small pinch of ground nutmeg (if using whole nutmeg, a very thin slice)
4 or 5 tsb of granulated sugar
1/4″ thick slice of ginger, peeled and smashed
Procedure
Add the cardamom pods, clove, coriander, cinnamon, and black peppercorns to a stone mortar and pestle. Crush until everything is basically a powder except for the exterior pods of the cardamom. Add the rest of the ingredients (tea, sugar, ginger, nutmeg) to the mortar so everything is in one place, ready to dump into the water all at once.
Add 1 cup of water to a pot, and put on high heat. As the water begins to make noise, and a bit of steam starts to come off the pot, but still a little bit before boiling, add all the ingredients in the mortar to the water. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Continue to heat on high until the water starts to bubble and is basically boiling as much as it’s going to with all the tea and other ingredients mixed in.
Add the evaporated milk, and stir a few times to combine. Keep the pot on high heat util the milk starts to boil. When the milk starts to boil, it will bubble and foam very quickly. You want to allow this to happen across the entire surface of the pot, but be sure not to let it over boil. Once the entire surface has foamed and bubbled up, remove the pot from the heat and swirl the liquid to calm the foam.
Pour the liquid either into a french press and strain then pour into a cup, or place a steel mesh strainer over the cup and pour directly.
Enjoy legitimate chai and never order garbage disgusting chai from Starbucks ever again.
Be careful when drinking because it is extremely hot and will stay hot for quite a while.