Chai Tea at home

At $4 per cup, chai tea is expensive. Which is a real shame, because it's delicious, and I'm poor. My first attempt to make it at home didn't go so well. It tasted gross, and I burnt the webbing between my fingers. (Turns out you're really sensitive there.) After healing and recovering from the emotional damage of failure, I tried again.


If you're the type of person to order a "tall" drink, this will make enough for you and a friend. If you're the type of person -- like myself -- who orders a "venti" because you never learned about this thing called "self control," you'll have enough just for yourself.


What you will need!
 
A small pot
measuring cup & spoons
1.5c water
1.5c milk
3T white sugar (or 2T white + 1T brown)
1/4t cinnamon
1/4t cloves
1/4t cardamom
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of pepper (black or white)
1T black tea leaves (~2 bags)
Other declicious options: orange zest or vanilla! 


Step 1
 
Heat the milk and water in a sauce pan, but don't boil it! Scalding will make the milk bitter. Ew.
In the bowl, I have my spices all measured out for the next step... 


Step 2
 
Add sugar and spice and everything nice! All of them. Everything. All at once.
I want to say something corny here like, "Don't be shy when you're making chai!!"
But I won't.


Step 3
 
Boil away!! But only for a second. And stir it a lot, so the spices don't burn on the bottom of the pot. And I have my tea leaves all ready to go...


Step 4
 
Cut open your tea bags so that it's loose-leaf. Reduce heat, and add them in. This is why it's called chai tea. How 'bout that.
Make sure to not boil it after this point, because doing so releases all the tannins in the tea, making it super bitter. What's that? Oh, nothing, just science.
Let it simmer for a few minutes and then...


Step 5
 
Strain! (The tea, not yourself.)
I like to use a French press for this step because it's easy, which works well for someone who is most of the time very, very lazy. Barring that equipment, a cheesecloth or a fine strainer would work as well. (Using strainers for straining things? Not me!)


Step 6
 
Wash your favorite mugs! At this point, you can either just drink it (no one will judge you) or you can go an extra mile and add other delicious things like a touch of cocoa powder, or honey or, heck, just more sugar. Sugar, YAY!

If you don't feel like sharing with a friend, and neither do I, you can either drink all of it yourself, or refrigerate it to make iced chai later.

Max's Allegheny Tavern

Max's Allegheny Tavern
537 Suismon St
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

My boyfriend called me this afternoon to see if I wanted to go to Max's for dinner tonight. He's been there once before, and I've been a few times. The food is always heavy, rich, and delicious - exactly the opposite of anything someone should eat who is trying to maintain a healthy diet. I immediately said yes and spent the next hour decided what I wanted to order.

Max's is a quiant and cozy place in the Northside area of Pittsburgh. The restaurant is divided into two sections, one with a bar atmosphere. The other side has a quieter, more formal feel. I never sit there. Luckily, they give you the option of where to sit, when they have enough open seating to provide options.

The stuffed pretzels are always amazing, being made fresh throughout the day, and served with a good spicy mustard. You get two in an order, so it's perfect for splitting. Our pretzels never arrived, however. That was the first disappointment.

As an entree, I ordered the hasenpfeffer, which is traditionally a rabbit stew. The rabbit was good, but there was no stew. Instead, I got pieces of rabbit on the bone, covered in a spiced red wine sauce. The sauce was rich, but lacking in flavor, and it turned the outside of the rabbit into a sort of mush. The rabbit itself was cooked wonderfully, which made the whole experience mostly enjoyable, despite the fact that I spent a large portion of the meal pulling tiny bones out of my mouth in the most attractive fashion I could, which doesn't say much, because pulling bones out of your mouth is never fashionable.

For dessert, I got the standard German chocolate cake. While I felt the cake should be made with a more bitter chocolate, the complaints end there. The cake was moist, and the chocolate whipped icing went perfectly with the coconut filling between its three layers. The large slice was gone in less than five minutes.

Overall, Max's Allegheny Tavern delivers a good German experience, for those with stomachs than can take the rich German food. While the hasenpfeffer is an acceptable option, I will continue to opt for the sausages in my future goings.

Service: 2/5
Efficiency: 5/5
Quality: 3/5
Overall: 3/5