My Salute to Chai Tea

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Chai is a popular way to prepare tea, with lots of different recipes Our chai tea is available in concentrates, latte mixes, and teabag form. Chai is a mixture of tea and spices like cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. It is traditionally blended with milk and can be enjoyed hot, cold, or blended with ice. The term 'chai' doesn't refer to an actual kind of tea or a specific drink, but a style of preparing it. Chai tea is usually served with a milk or cream, and is heavily spiced. Common spices in chai are cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, and allspice. Chai has come to North America from India, and has gained much popularity at coffeehouses and tea shops everywhere. It's not hard to make at home, and many of the spices are ones you likely have in your pantry. Here are a few great chai recipes to try:

From Sean Paajanen, Your Guide to Coffee / Tea. Stay up to date! Kashmiri Chai Tea A chai tea recipe with powdered almonds. INGREDIENTS: 1 tsp loose tea 4 cardamom pods, bruised 1 small cinnamon stick, broken up Saffron threads, a pinch 4 cups water 2 tbs finely powdered almonds Honey, to taste PREPARATION: Mix everything except honey and almonds in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and let tea steep for 5 minutes. Put a teaspoon of almonds in the bottom of each cup, and pour hot tea over. Sweeten with honey to taste.

Spicy Milk Tea A recipe for chai tea, with extra milk. INGREDIENTS: 4 tbs green tea 6 whole cloves 1/2 ground ginger 1 tsp cinnamon 1 cup milk 4 cups water PREPARATION: Boil water, then simmer with cinnamon, ginger and cloves for about 10 minutes. Add tea and steep for another 5 minutes. Add milk and heat until near boiling. Strain out the spices and tea leaves. Serve chai with a bit of honey.

Masala Chai Tea One of my own favorite recipes for spiced tea, or chai. INGREDIENTS: 4 tsp loose tea, usually black 1 piece of dry ginger 3 cardamom pods, crushed 3 whole cloves 1 piece of cinnamon stick Milk and sugar to taste PREPARATION: Boil 2 cups of water, then add tea and spices. Boil for another half minute then remove from heat. Let sit for 1 minute. Strain out the spices and serve, with milk and/or sugar. Serves 4

Moon Chai A huge number of exotic spices in this chai recipe INGREDIENTS: 10 pieces of ginger, 1-inch 4 cinnamon sticks, broken 1 tsp green cardamom pods 2 1/4 tsp black peppercorns 1 tsp cloves, whole 1/2 tsp fennel seeds 1/2 tsp licorice root 1/2 tsp allspice 5 cups water 3 tbs honey Milk, to taste PREPARATION: Combine everything except for milk and honey, in a saucepan. Cover pot and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove the pot from heat, and let sit for another 35 minutes (covered). Strain out the spices and add honey, and milk if desired.

Thai Iced Tea A creamy iced tea, with some spicy hints. An iced tea recipe for all chai fans. INGREDIENTS: 6 cups water 8 tea bags, black 1 cup evaporated milk 4 tbs sugar 4 tsp cinnamon 4 tsp cardamom Ice, crushed PREPARATION: Boil the water and steep tea bags with cardamom for 5 minutes. Strain out teabags and let cool. Put ice into 4 glasses, and add tea. Leave about a quarter of the glass empty. To each glass add, 1 tbs sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 cup of milk

Holiday au Lait I couldn't forget the coffee lovers. This hot coffee drink has all the elements of a good cup of chai. Coffee with a few spices with lots of milk and vanilla. INGREDIENTS: 1 cup hot coffee 8 oz milk 1 oz vanilla syrup or extract 1/8 tsp of each: cinnamon, sugar, allspice, cloves PREPARATION: In the bottom of your mug, mix the spices and vanilla. Fill halfway with hot coffee, then the other half with warm milk

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Mocha Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (about 18 cookies)
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can EAGLE BRAND®® Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
3 eggs
3 (1-ounce) squares semi-sweet chocolate, melted
2 tablespoons instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup mini-chocolate chips

Whipped topping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300º.
Combine crumbs and butter; press firmly on bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in EAGLE BRAND until smooth. Add remaining ingredients except chips and whipped topping; mix well. Stir in 3/4 cup chips.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes or until center is set. Cool. Chill. Just before serving, remove side of springform pan. Garnish with whipped topping and remaining 1/4 cup chips. Refrigerate leftovers.

Cappuccino Caramels Royale

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, cut up
2 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 (14-ounce) can EAGLE BRAND®® Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon instant coffee crystals
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

Instructions

Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Butter foil; set aside.
In heavy 3-quart saucepan, melt 1 cup butter and chocolate. Stir in brown sugar, EAGLE BRAND, corn syrup and coffee crystals. Clip candy thermometer to side of pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thermometer registers 248º (firm-ball stage*). Mixture should boil at moderate, steady rate over entire surface. Reaching firm-ball stage should take 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from heat. Remove thermometer. Immediately stir in nuts if desired. Quickly pour into prepared pan, spreading evenly with spoon. Cool.

When candy is firm, use foil to lift candy out of pan. Use buttered knife to cut into squares. Wrap each square in plastic wrap or place in candy cups if desired.

Notes: *NOTE: To test for firm-ball stage, spoon a few drops of the hot caramel mixture into a cup of very cold (but not icy) water. Using your fingers, form the drops into a ball. Remove the ball from the water. If it is firm enough to hold its shape but quickly flattens at room temperature, it has reached firm-ball stage. If the mixture hasn't reached the correct stage, continue cooking and retesting, using fresh water and a clean spoon each time.

Bourbon Coffee Egg Nog Punch

Ingredients

3 cups cold milk
1 (14-ounce) can EAGLE BRAND®® Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
4 eggs*
3 to 4 teaspoons strong coffee
1/3 cup bourbon
1/3 cup coffee flavored liqueur
1 cup (1/2 pint) whipping cream, whipped
Dash ground cinnamon
Dash ground nutmeg

Instructions

In large mixer bowl, combine milk, EAGLE BRAND, eggs and coffee; beat on low speed until coffee dissolves.
Stir in bourbon and liqueur; chill. Before serving, top with whipped cream, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Refrigerate leftovers.

Holiday Egg Nog: Omit coffee and coffee-flavored liqueur. Increase bourbon to 1/2 cup; add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Proceed as above.

*Use only Grade A clean, uncracked eggs.

The Making Of Espresso

ESPRESSO

The first, and still the ultimate,
single-cup coffee

To many, the difference between
regular coffee and espresso is a mystery. Is it the bean itself? The roasting of
the bean? The grinding of the bean? The machine? The dainty little cup that
people sip it out of? Well, yes. Kind of. But let’s start from the beginning.

THE MACHINE

At the beginning of the 20th century an Italian by the name of Luigi Bezzera developed a machine that used the air
pressure resulting from trapped steam to force water through ground coffee
(this, as opposed to gravity doing the work). The strainers used in Bezzera’s
machine were of the single cup variety, similar in size and concept to the
strainers of today’s espresso makers -- the little metal cups that hold
tamped-down grounds and screw tight into their receptacles.

In 1948, another Italian came up
with an improvement on his countryman’s design. In Achille Gaggia’s version of
the espresso maker, a spring-powered piston pushed water through the coffee
harder and faster than the steam-created pressure had. This new spring-loaded
system achieved a pressure that is still considered ideal -- about nine
atmospheres, or nine times the pressure created by the earth’s atmosphere.

Today, automated buttons and
flashing lights have replaced the original pump-piston inventions, though some
baristas still prefer the latter as they give the operator maximum control over
the result.

And of course, in today’s flurry of
“double foam, extra hot, nonfat lattes” (and assorted variations) no discussion
of espresso is complete without a mention of the milk frother. For, though
espresso itself does not involve milk, its offspring (the lattes, the
cappuccinos, the au-la its), wouldn’t exist without it. Pleasingly for the
efficiency-minded, the milk frother actually utilizes the steam that is created
during the brewing of the espresso grounds, and produces delicious steamed milk
with a customizable temperature and froth.

THE BEANS

Although espresso would be nowhere
without the machine, the real thing has to start with the beans. Beans destined
for Espresso are usually an assortment of a few varieties blended for a balance
in sweetness, aroma, and smoothness. Once the perfect blend is achieved, the
beans are roasted to a fairly dark color, though not dark enough to produce an
overly-bitter brew. Actually, if the beans are blended well, some people think a
light roasting may produce a superior cup. Finally, a burr grinder is used (it
is far more consistent than electric blade grinders, and faster) to grind the
beans into a fine coffee powder. The size of the grinds and the darkness of the
roast will effect the extraction process; if your espresso maker errs to either
side of the 23-28 second ideal range, you may want to adjust the size of your
grinds: the darker the roast, the faster the extraction time; the finer the
grounds, the slower the extraction time. Too confusing? Buy good espresso beans
from your favorite specialty coffee roaster (May we suggest GMCR’s
Dark Magic Espresso Blend? Our
Fair Trade Organic Espresso?), assume that they’ve been blended and
roasted appropriately, and grind the beans into something that resembles dark
brown table salt and is fine enough to adhere to your skin when you touch it.

CHOOSING YOUR EQUIPMENT

As with all aspects of coffee
creation, getting a handle on your own taste, habits, and budget is the most
important step. GMCR offers a range of options which range from simple and
less-expensive to top-of-the-line Ferrari-style.

Jura Avantegarde S9 Espresso Maker

Impressa F9 Espresso Maker

THE DRINK

Ok, so how is espresso really
different from coffee? Is it just dark dense beans brewed in a fancy way? Yes.
But it’s the fancy stuff that makes the product a separate beast all together.
What the high heat and pressure of an espresso machine does is emulsify
insoluble oils in ground coffee, oils that, in regular coffee makers, do not get
extracted. The oils are formed into microscopic droplets and suspended in liquid
coffee concentrate, thus forming the top third of a well-made cup of espresso,
or the “crema.” Once this luxurious light-brown layer is consumed, bubbles of
aroma burst in the mouth, and oils glom onto taste buds, both resulting in a
taste sensation that lasts long after your demitasse is empty.

According to Ernesto Lilly, “The
distinguishing sensory characteristics of Italian espresso include a rich body,
a full fine aroma, and equilibrated bittersweet taste with an acidic note, and a
pleasant lingering aftertaste, exempt from unpleasant flavor defects.”

Sounds good, eh? Wait till you taste
it.

making espresso