For those of us who ALWAYS make too much tea

Okay, I am paranoid when it comes to tea.

I am scared that I will not use enough water and there could be a time when I don't have a full cup. I could measure the water first, but it's just not in my blood to measure anything unless I am baking. I just can't do it! Plus, it feels like a waste to make one cup of tea when I know I can get three or more from one tea bag if I play my cards right.

So what to do with the leftovers? Well, since I make mine spiced with cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon (YUMMERS!) which allows me to hang out with the East Africans and Desis, it's pretty easy to make iced chai from this. Some of you already know how this works, so if you have variations to add, please feel free!

Here's how to make awesome iced chai and save $3.75 at the coffee shop:

1. Boil too much water with one or two tea bags (black... I like English Breakfast but I know the purists will freak out on me for this) and one each cardamom pod, clove, and small chunk of cinnamon.
2. Let it simmer until it's a nice dark tea color, but not too long—maybe a minute at low boil.
3. Drink your cup of tea however you like it (I like one spoon of sugar and some type of milk). Try it Desi-style with evaporated milk for extra richness.
4. There is nothing worse than watery iced chai. YUCK. Pour the leftover tea into an ice cube tray and freeze so you can chill your chai without adding water. Save cubes in a plastic bag so they don't get funky in the freezer.
5. The next time you have leftover tea (the next day because you again made too much!), store the remainder in the fridge.
6. When you want iced chai—and you will often in the summer—mix the tea with sugar, milk (my favorite is actually with Silk Original Flavor soy milk), and add some of the tea-cubes.

Viola! Iced Chai. Once you get rolling, you will almost always have some tea-cubes and chilled tea in the fridge/freezer. I really think it's as good as what you can get in the coffee shop and you can make it without dealing with an over-bubbly barista (unless you are one yourself, then that's your problem, not mine).