Lauren'S Masala Chai Concentrate - cooking recipe

Ingredients

7 cups water
2 tablespoons cut dried ginger (chunks, available at health food stores in the bulk spice department) or 1 inch fresh ginger
10 -15 whole cloves
1/4 star anise pods
3 inches cinnamon sticks
1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon cardamom seed
2 tablespoons black tea leaves
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
milk

Preparation

special note about spices (If you have a bulk foods or Whole Foods or Vitamin Cottage kind of grocer nearby, get the spices from the bulk section. They often cost 25% what you'd pay for a jar! My total ingredients expense was around $1.50, not including the milk!).
In a medium-large saucepan, bring about 7 cups water to a boil.
Meanwhile, add the 6 spices (do not add the tea yet).
Once the water/spice mixture is boiling, add the tea.
Boil 5 minutes, then remove from heat. (I know you're never supposed to boil tea, but I found this works just fine. If you don't want to boil the tea, just boil the spices for 5 minutes and steep slightly longer.).
Stir in the brown sugar (or honey) and vanilla.
Steep for 8 minutes, then strain into a glass container.
While you wait for it to cool, pour a mug 2/3 full with your chai and add hot milk to the top. (If it isn't spicy or sweet enough, you can still add more spices to steep - just strain the mixture again before storing.) OR for a real treat, use hot evaporated milk (I wouldn't want this every day, because its a little sweeter and creamier than regular milk.).
Store in the refrigerator for 7 days (maybe longer, but all chai concentrate containers claim 7 days is best). Note: Normally you'd use 1:1 ratio of chai:milk, but I brew it a little weaker and save $ on milk since I drink so much chai.