Chai Latte

Method

1. Drop the 2 Teapigs Chai tea temples into a small heatproof jug and pour over the 100ml of rolling boiling water. Cover with a small saucer and steep for six full minutes.
2. While the concentrate steeps, pour the 200ml of barista oat milk into a small saucepan. Add the cinnamon stick and the 1/4 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger root if using.
3. Set the saucepan over a medium low heat and warm gently to about 65 to 70C, stirring occasionally so the spices distribute through the milk. The milk should be steaming hot but well below a simmer.
4. Take the saucepan off the heat. Lift the cinnamon stick out with a teaspoon and set it aside on a small saucer for the final stirrer.
5. Froth the warm spiced oat milk with an electric milk frother, an immersion blender or a French press plunger for thirty to forty seconds until the volume has roughly doubled and the foam is thick and stable.
6. Lift the tea temples from the concentrate, do not press, and discard.
7. Stir the 2 tablespoons of maple syrup into the still hot concentrate until fully dissolved.
8. Pour the sweetened concentrate into a warmed tall mug or latte glass.
9. Pour the frothed spiced oat milk slowly down the side of the glass into the concentrate, holding back the foam with the back of a spoon. The drink should layer briefly into amber and white before merging into a soft tan colour.
10. Spoon the held back foam on top of the latte in a thick foam cap. Grate the fresh whole nutmeg across the foam in three or four passes. Stand the cinnamon stick in the glass as a stirrer and serve straight away with a long spoon.