Chai for a crowd--complicated--see text, pls

Question

HELP!!!!!! I'm handling hospitality for a nonprofit interfaith conference next spring; some folks begged for chai. We've PREVIOUSLY done instant coffee/tea with hot water pots---but want to shift towards serving brewed Fair Trade Certified coffee, per-bag FTC teas, and Fair Trade Certified cocoa.

(BTW, anybody got a good recipe for homemade hot cocoa mix? The kind that uses BAKING cocoa (not Nestle's Quik or similar product), and where you add your own dry milk & maybe nondairy creamer to the mix?

I can get a FTC cocoa mix with the milk already in it, but can undoubtedly make homemade stuff cheaper & better,,,,especially in the quantities this bunch will probably go through. The food & beverages are free to attendees (donations JOYOUSLY accepted), so cutting costs (and staying as Green as doable!) are important for us.

For the chai, well, some people want honey and others do different sweeteners (some are diabetic, some are health nuts or dieting, some want sugar) .....and don't even ASK about the creamer/alternative choice problems, when you're dealing with such a diverse bunch!! (Moan and grin.)

So was hoping someone who knows about chai (absolute rookie here) could provide a good recipe. Want to brew/simmer quite a lot of FTC loose-leaf tea and spices in advance at home and pour it into a really big thermos, label the contents, then let people add their own per-cup sweetener and milk/creamer as desired (and re-nuke as necessary).

Have sources for FTC chai teabags and such, but they're expensive!!! My guess is that this group will probably go through 50-60 servings of chai in the course of a weekend conference. But looseleaf FTC tea is not that costly, and good spices are cheap.

Our capacity to "cook" onsite is severely limited, so pre-making the chai is important. We figure that adding the "brewing" capacity of the 30-cup percolator for the real coffee is about as high as we can go, and that'll have to be in sequence after heating tea/cocoa water. (The other power in the room is tied up with the soup crockpots and microwaves; we're already using powerstrips and stretching cords.)

Can't see any "instant" teas working here....unless you can provide me with a link to a source for FAIR TRADE CERTIFIED instant tea. (And would LOVE a source for FTC instant decaf coffee, which looks to be a nightmare to find! We may be **stuck** having to serve general market decaf instant this year----sadface.)

Thanks lots, people!

Answer 1

Well my favorite chai is the classic Indian spiced masala chai. To make one cup, brew 3/4 a cup of water. Add 1-2 spoons of a loose leaf tea ( I like it strong with 2 spoons). The brand of loose leaf chai that I think is the best is the Masala Chai from Rishi-Tea. It has everything a good masala chai needs: cardamom, ginger, and cloves. Simmer the concoction for 5 mins, then serve hot and sweet with milk and sugar.    

Answer 2

There are some good recipes for chai concentrate out there - that way you'd only have to brew black tea (you can pick up mass quantities of that for relatively low prices). I'll link a couple good concentrates here.

Answer 3

For Medium strength chai for one person -- In a pot add about 3-4 tablespoons of water, then add 2.5 teaspoons of loose leaf tea, let that come together until the color of the tea starts to make the water brown, then add 1.5 cups of milk. Let it boil for about 4-6 minutes. This is the crucial step : the chai will boil for a while and then it will overflow from the pot if you don't keep an eye on it. So right when it boils and the bubbles seem to rise to the top --shut off the gas. You chai is done.

If you want you can add cardamom at the beginning when you add tea but since you are making it for a crowd I don't know if you want to play it safe or liven it up.

Also for a stronger cup of chai add 3.5 teaspoons of loose leaf tea instead of 2.5.