Chai Latte Tea Concentrate

Place the tea bags, cold water and milk in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil. When you reach the boil, drop the heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and squeeze the tea bags to extract as much flavor and liquid as possible. Discard tea bags and transfer the Chai Latte Concentrate to a heat-safe container. Allow to cool to room temperature, put a tight fitting lid on the container and store in the refrigerator for up to 12 days.

To prepare a Chai Latte:

When making the Chai Latte, you have ultimate control over flavors, sweetness and creaminess. If you like a richer latte, use chocolate syrup as your sweetener and substitute half-and-half for your milk. If you’re watching your calories, use low-fat milk and stevia. My own personal preference dictates a latte lightly sweetened with half agave and half sugar and made creamy with whole milk. But see? This is another advantage of making it at home. You can be as high or low maintenance as you want and no barista will give you the stink eye.

You will need:

1/3- 1/2 cup of milk
1/2- 2/3 cup of Chai Latte Concentrate
1-3 teaspoons, to taste, of sweetener (I use a combination of agave nectar and raw sugar)

Optional for serving: whipped cream, cocoa powder, ground cinnamon.

Pour milk and concentrate into a saucepan or a microwave-safe measuring cup. Heat just until steaming. Pour into your serving glass and sweeten to taste. Top as desired. I give mine a tall cap of whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon.

Sip. Relax. Repeat.