Toast the Spices: Place a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, cloves, peppercorns, and star anise. Toast them for 1-2 minutes, shaking the pan often, until they become highly fragrant. This step is crucial for deepening the flavour.

Add Water and Ginger: Carefully pour the 1 litre of cold water into the saucepan with the toasted spices. Add the sliced fresh ginger.

Simmer and Infuse: Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes. This allows the spices to fully infuse the water. The liquid will darken and your kitchen will smell amazing.

Steep the Tea: Turn off the heat and add the 4 black tea bags to the pan. Let them steep for 5 minutes. I find that any longer can make the concentrate a bit bitter, but 5 minutes is the sweet spot.

Sweeten the Concentrate: Remove and discard the tea bags, squeezing them gently to get all the liquid out. Stir in the soft light brown sugar until it has completely dissolved. You can adjust the amount of sugar based on how sweet you like your lattes.

Strain and Cool: Pour the concentrate through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof jug or bottle to remove all the spices and ginger. Allow it to cool to room temperature, then place it in the fridge to chill completely, for at least 2 hours.

Assemble Your Iced Latte: Fill a tall glass to the top with ice cubes. Pour in 120ml of your chilled chai concentrate.

Add Milk and Vanilla: Add the tablespoon of vanilla syrup. Top up with 150ml of cold milk.

Stir and Serve: Give it a good stir with a long spoon to combine all the layers. Garnish with a light dusting of ground cinnamon if you wish, and enjoy immediately.