When patience meets a craving, you may find yourself with an iced almond milk masala chai tea. Trust me when I tell you that the overnight almond soak is essential for the creamiest sip. Even if your counter is graced with a blender that can turn the petite nuts into powder with the flip of a switch, you need to let them get plump for the richest taste.
Now before you add handfuls of the sweet nuts to a mason jar, let's consider the final sip that you're seeking. Let's jump ahead to the decision to heat the almond milk and infuse it with Masala Chai Tea spices for an iced latte. Now, there's an easier way that will let you skip a few steps and add a serious dose of complex flavors right from the start. So, let's take a look at the process. When making almond milk, water takes a lead twice (1. Water to soak almonds 2. Water to blend with almonds). Let's instead infuse that water with Masala Chai Tea, chill it, and use it to soak the almonds with flavor and then blend it directly into the milk. Not only does this eliminate the step of heating the milk later on to infuse with tea, but it intensifies the spiced sip.
Before you let the almonds scatter out of the bag, brew a large batch of iced masala chai tea. Next, add 1 cup of almonds to a ball jar, cover with iced masala chai tea, seal airtight and pop in the fridge overnight. The next day, strain the almonds from the masala chai tea (you can discard this tea) and rinse the almonds in cold water (note that the almonds have soaked in the masala chai flavors). Add the plump almonds to a strong blender with 2 cups of fresh iced masala chai tea (that you made yesterday and has been chilling in the fridge). This is when you can play with even more flavors: floral waters (a dash of orange blossom water and rose water always find a way into my sip), sweeteners (honey, agave, even dates), extra spices (vanilla pods, cardamom seeds), and definitely a pinch or so of sea salt to round out the sweetness (if you add it).
Blend everything until silky smooth and combined, then strain with a nut milk bag. Before you reach for your trusty strainer or cheese cloth, listen closely. A nut milk bag is the secret to the creamiest sip. Simply pour the contents from the blender into the nut milk bag and gently squeeze into a bowl until all of the liquid has been separated from the almond meal that is now left in the bag. Transfer the milk from the bowl into an airtight container and chill in the fridge (note that you will want to enjoy the almond milk within a few days).
Ice cubes might seem like the perfect companion for the chilliest sip, although you'll just water down the precious milk that took time to craft. So you'll just want to flash chill the sip in the freezer (or keep it cold in the fridge). Although if you can't help but need a cube in your cup, consider filling your ice cube tray with more masala chai tea so that you can pop in spiced cubes that will simply impart even more flavor (although the richness of the milk will be slightly diluted as the cubes melt).
