Sticky Chai v.1

Ingredients: 
100g black Ceylon tea
15g cinnamon sticks
5g whole clove
20g vanilla powder
5g turmeric powder
15g dried ginger
5g aniseed
3g licorice root
5g whole green cardamom
10g black peppercorn
5g coriander seed
200g yellow box honey

Break the cinnamon sticks in half, and pull them apart.

Crack open the cardamom pods, and extract the seeds from the pods -- keep the pods.

Break up the slices of dried ginger -- pull apart with your fingers or chop.

Pour all the dry ingredients into a bowl, then pour the honey on top and stir. Everything should be moist with honey, without dry spots. Put into a jar and leave it in a dark and cool cupboard for 2 weeks.

Notes: 
I am making my own Sticky Chai because I find the original one to be too sweet, not spicy enough and lacking in licorice/aniseed flavor that Matthias so loves.

I did not mix this by hand. I recommend using your stand mixer on the lower setting, with a dough hook. It is less work to clean the dough hook and bowl than to do this by hand.

Using the dough hook also minimises the crushing of the spices. While some crushing is ideal (that is why I pull apart the cinnamon sticks), I suspect that crushing or grinding the mixture down may cause some of the spices -- particularly the clove and the star anise -- to taste too bitter in the final product.

I only used yellow box honey because it was cheaper. Any regular honey will be fine. I plan on making a batch with maple syrup at some point, but with less of the aniseed.

Tasting Notes: 

Makes for a very mellow, and mild chai. I have to add some fresh ground pepper and chopped ginger to give it even the slightest kick.