Tearoom Chai

“The clock on the mantlepiece chimed, very softly and precisely, five times. A tug hooted from the river. A sudden breeze brought the sharp tang of a bonfire in at the window. The jigsaw was almost complete…And Mrs. Miniver, with a little sigh of contentment, rang for tea.” ~Jan Struther (Mrs. Miniver)

This is a recipe I learned while working at the Tale of Two Sisters Tearoom here in Red Wing. There’s chai and then there’s CHAI. This is the very best!

~SISTERS CHAI~

1/3 cup Mrs. Kelly’s loose leaf Chai

1/3 cup heated 2% milk

2 Tablespoons Mrs. Kelly’s vanilla sugar

1/4 teaspoon real vanilla extract

Warm a 2 cup teapot by running very hot tap water into it until it’s full. Allow to sit in a clean sink while you boil the water for your chai. Pour out water and fill teapot with boiling water. Add the tea leaves. Steep 5-7 minutes (you want a pretty strong brew.) Mix the heated milk (heated just below boiling) together with the 2 cups brewed tea. Add the sugar and vanilla and serve.

~CHOCOLATE CHAI~

Prepare Sisters Chai as indicated above. To the finished, hot chai, add:

2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Dutch processed.)

1 and 1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup sugar

Whisk all until well combined. Heat through. Serve.

~QUICK ICED CHAI~

1 cup Mrs. Kelly’s loose leaf Chai

12 oz. sweetened condensed milk

Warm a 4-6 cup teapot. Pour out water and fill with boiling water. Steep tea in a covered teapot for 7-8 minutes (to make a concentrate.) Remove leaves. While the tea is steeping, pour sweetened condensed milk into a seperate 4-6 cup teapot. Pour steeped tea over the sweetened condensed milk. When cool enough, pour into a large glass caraffe and chill. Serve over ice.

Enjoy!

~Melissa