Today's Way to Save Episode 4: Market Chai for Cheap!

Bonjour tout le monde!

Today, I'm excited to share with you a fantastic market-spice recipe for chai tea syrup! Making this at home can help you avoid paying café prices for chai lattés or pre-made mix. Here's how I went about it, and how you can do the same:

At Aix's 365-day market, and especially the tri-weekly "grand marché", there is usually at least one spice vendor, and tables for honey, fruit and veggies. All around, the prices for fresh, fragrant ingredients are extremely reasonable, even considering the exchange rate.

In your case, you may consider shopping a similar outdoor market, or visiting an ethnic store in your area. Bulk spices tend to run much cheaper than pre-packed ones (besides being fresher and more flavorful)!

My favorite part about Aix's market, next to practicing my French, is that every vendor is more or less willing to budge on prices with a little small talk. I was able to work out 2 delectably scented Madagascar vanilla beans for €1, and a mini-pot of local forest honey for €3 by just explaining what I was going to make with them.

In total, I bought everything I needed for around €12, including excess spices, tea, and more unrefined sugar than I will -ever- use in 3 months. Even if I don't make another batch, that's €0,60 per serving!

For tea, I used €2 Lipton vanilla flavored black tea from DIA. Granted, plain black tea would likely provide a more authentic chai flavor. For sugar, I used unrefined cane "cassonade" that is sold in small inexpensive bags all over Aix.

Also, I opted to add extra peppercorns during the second boil-down because my mix didn't smell spicy enough for my tastes. Feel free to be flexible and make your own special recipe! Here's mine:

Making this recipe with some my CEA friends was great fun, even though we didn't get to finish it the first time; the whole house smelled fantastic! The finished syrup tastes even better than it smells, mixed with warm or cold milk. I highly recommend you give it a try.

If you do, it won't last long! (Depending on how fast you can drink 20 lattés) ;)

What are your thoughts on chai? If you're a fan, would you ever attempt this recipe? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading!