As the full moon set on this frosty morning, I rose out of bed and wrapped myself in a big fluffy robe to greet the day. A perfect morning for something spicy to warm me up, I simmered some Chai in a pan on the stove while I made breakfast.

Masala chai is a traditional Indian blend of black tea and spices – cardamon seed pods, cinnamon pieces, clove, ginger and black pepper. An Indian gentleman once told me that they would add the black tea leaves to the sweetened milk and then go to their spices and throw this and that in to simmer. So, each family had their own recipe and that could vary from day to day.

I used Chai Spice blend and added a couple of spoonfuls to a cup of organic 2% milk. I simmered this mixture for 10 minutes and then added sweetener to taste. This results in a very spicy cup so it is one of the rare occasions where I will add sweetener to my tea. It smooths out the sharpness of the spices, especially my extra spicy version. Demerara sugar is unrefined with a high molasses content and works especially well.

Mmmmm, delicious!