Saturday, February 5, 2011

Day 5 ~ Giving It Some Kick ~ 12 Days of Chai

Some folks like their chai spicy, others not so much. The good news about brewing your own at home is that you are the master of the spice. You can heat it up or tone it down depending on your mood for the day.

Black peppercorns provide the baseline for the kick in my chai. This is one spice I don't crack before adding to the mix. I prefer the flavor to seep out.

Cayenne pepper, on the other hand, is reserved for those of us who like a strong punch with our kick. 

Just a small amount for the whole batch usually does the trick. Adding it at the very end of the brewing process ensures that I avoid unwelcome sneezing and irritating coughing all morning long. 

Thanks to my friend, the Beekeeper, for demystifying this phenomenon for me. For the longest time I couldn't understand why I sneezed like a madwoman every time I got my brew on. If it wasn't for her I'd still be thinking I was under some obscure chai makers curse. 

The Wood Brothers - Spirit

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...