Chef Eric's Chai Latte Concentrate

INGREDIENTS

• 8 cups milk (cow’s milk, coconut milk, almond milk or dark chocolate almond milk)

• 2 Vanilla Beans or 1 1/2 teaspoons Frontier Organic Vanilla Extract

• 2 tablespoons agave nectar (adjust to taste; also can use honey, stevia or cane sugar, to taste)

• 8 Cinnamon Sticks

• 6 Whole Star Anise

• 1/2 Ginger Root Granules or ground Ginger

• 2 teaspoons Orange Peel (could use fresh if you like)

• 1/2 teaspoon Cloves

• 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg or freshly grated nutmeg

• 1/4 teaspoon Cardamom Seeds, decorticated or 10 to 12 whole cardamom pods, slightly crushed

• 1/4 teaspoon Black Peppercorns

• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cardamom (optional, for more of the Indian chai tea flavor)

• 1/2 cup Assam Tea or Frontier Darjeeling Black Tea (loose leaf)

DIRECTIONS

1. With a knife, halve the vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape the seeds into saucepan. Toast the spices in a dry pan to release their oils. Add the vanilla pods, milk, agave nectar and spices to pan. Let the mixture get hot, almost boiling, then add the tea leaves.

2. Remove pan from heat and let mixture steep for approximately 30 minutes.

3. Strain spices and tea leaves from steeped mixture by pouring through a sieve. Let the concentrate cool. Store the concentrate in the refrigerator for up to one week.

4. To serve a chai latte, combine chai concentrate and milk in a 1:1 ratio. For an extra indulgence, add a dollop of homemade cinnamon whipped cream.