Masala Tea Recipe

As predicted, I was craving the spiced tea we had, so set out to make some for myself. I didn't make it to Gong Fu Tea yesterday to learn the ins and outs of looseleaf tea, so had to settle for some Twinings Darjeeling bag tea for the time being.

Anyway, I found a recipe online and then, as usual, did my own thing with it (you can see it here: http://www.recipedelights.com/recipes/beverages/masalatea.htm). It's not *as* good as what we had in India, but pretty tasty considering I'm cheating on some of the spices by buying the dried, inexpensive and/or ground stuff. So here goes:

Begin to heat up 2 cups of water in a saucepan.

Then add:
* 1/2 inch of fresh ginger root, cut into slices
* 1 star anise
* 3-4 black peppercorns
* 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
* 2 cloves
* 4 tsp sugar

Let the mixture boil 3-4 minutes, then add 3/4 cup milk (whole milk tastes best, but I used 2 percent, and it's fine) to the mixture and bring it just to a boil. Remove from heat, add enough tea for 2 (I used 2 tea bags), cover and let steep for 5 minutes. Strain and enjoy!