#16) Chai Tea

I feel so badly about having been away from Sweet Treats for so long, but school has become even more time consuming now with midterms, and the bf has been visiting for the past couple of weeks so any free time I did have was spent with him, instead of in the kitchen. But last night I started reading a slow cooker cook book I bought for the bf last week and it was very impressive. This recipe for chai tea really caught my eye becasue a mug of this tea is one of my favorite ways to end a long day. It has just the right amount of sweetness and its aroma will surely make you smile :) This sweet treat is really simple... All you do is dump everything in the slow cooker for a couple of hours and presto, you have calming chai tea!

Ingredients:

8 cups water

8 bags black tea (I used orange pekoe)

1/2 cup sugar (chai tea is meant to be sweet, but you can surely adjust it to your own taste)

16 whole cloves (I used 3/4 tbsp powdered becasue its what I had on hand, but of course it has all settled to the bottom, making that part too strong for me... next time I will pick up the real stuff!)

16 whole cardamom seeds, pods removed (same deal as cloves)

5 cinnamon sticks

8 slices fresh ginger

1 cup milk (I used white soy in some and chocolate dairly in some - there wasn't really any difference in taste)

Steps:

-Combine water, tea bages, sugar, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger in slow cooker.

-Cover and cook on high for 2-2.5 hours.

-Strain and discaard solids.

-Stir in milk just before serving.

*Can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.