Two weekends ago, I found myself in a coffee shop in upstate NY. It was fantastic in that it had two chess tables and an expansive menu. Long story short, I began by partaking in the chess when I decided I wanted a drink. At the suggestion of a close friend, I ordered a chai latte. Needless to say, my suggestor knew me pretty well, and the drink was a delight. I'd had chai tea before, but that is clearly a horse of a different color. I asked how it was made so creamy, and I was informed that milk was used to attain that quality.
Fast forward a week and a half, and yours truly is sitting with thirst, a half gallon of milk in the fridge, and some pumpkin spice chai tea bags in the cabinet. As you no doubt could have guessed, a lightbulb went off above me (unlike Chuck Norris, the sun wasn't created by this thought). Anyway, I proceeded to heat some milk and dunk the tea bag in it. It didn't take long for the milk to transform from white to mother of pearl, and I was quite excited for the delicious treat I was about to enjoy. Then, I lifted the mug to my lips for some good old fashioned imibition. It tasted nothing like what I'd hoped. I can't quite figure out what it's missing...Whether I had too great of a milk to teabag ratio or whether I excluded a necessary ingredient is beyond me. All I know is that while it wasn't terrible, it's not something that I could proudly serve to anyone.
Please, if you know what I'm missing or have any suggestions/hints about how I can make a less crappy drink, let me know! I beg of you!
-FSG
Oh. Dear. God. Heaven help you...no, wait, it's too late now. A Chai latte. (Yes, I am the friend that urged you to it) requires more than some half-assed tea bags and warm milk. No joke. If you need a tutorial, contact me. I'll step you through it, one painful stage at a time...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Desirous
ReplyDeleteI looked up some recipes for you - it doesn't seem that hard, but is certainly more than milk and a tea bag.
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/hot-chai-latte/Detail.aspx