homemade holiday: chai tea concentrate

remember this photo from my homemade body scrub post?

things got a little out of hand after that post and i made about a million of them...

because they are just so cute. what's a girl to do? well, this girl had to figure out a way to use all of these newly-chalkboard-labeled mason jars. 

hello homemade chai tea concentrate! fav holiday bev for sure.

what you need:

1 quart mason jar
4 1/2 c. water
8 bags orange pekoe black tea
1/2 c. coconut sugar, date sugar or raw cane sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
3-inch section of fresh ginger, cut into pieces
10 whole cloves
8 cardamom pods
1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
2 whole star anise pods
1/2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
1 tsp. fresh orange zest
1 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. of vanilla extract
1 small 6″ square section of cheesecloth
kitchen twine

what you do:

remove any tags from the tea bags and tie them all together. prepare the spices (cinnamon sticks, ginger, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, anise, peppercorns, and orange zest) by laying them out on the cheesecloth square. pull up the edges of the cheesecloth and tie them shut to make a pouch.  in a saucepan, boil water and sugar over medium heat. once boiling, reduce to simmer and add the tea bag bunch and the spice pouch. simmer for 20 minutes, then remove the bags and pouch. add honey and vanilla extract and stir until dissolved.  allow the mixture to cool completely, then pour into your mason jar.  keep refrigerated and use within one week.  to use, mix one part chai with one part milk and serve warm or iced--both are so tasty!

i tripled this recipe because i had quite a few jars to fill...