POUR BLACK AND TAN RECIPES

Steps:

• Combine 1 cup water and 1 cup/200 grams sugar in a saucepan. Cook over medium-high until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a simmer around the edges. Cool the syrup to room temperature.
• When the syrup is cool, add the cranberries and stir to coat. Work in batches if necessary. Use a slotted spoon to remove the cranberries from the syrup and place them on a cooling rack set over a sheet pan to drain. Let the cranberries dry for 45 minutes. Save the syrup for cocktails or another batch of cranberries.
• Pour the remaining 1 1/2 cups/250 grams sugar into a shallow dish and roll the cranberries, a few at a time, in the sugar until completely coated. Let them dry completely then store in an airtight container room temperature for up to 3 days. After a few days they may start to soften and weep a bit. Cook them down into sauce or quick jam.

Steps:

• To a 5-qt pot, add 3 cups water, cardamom pods and seeds, ginger, and pepper and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Then add tea and boil for 4–5 minutes until the water looks darker.
• Add milk and let boil until the foam almost overflows the pot. (Not all plant-based milk will rise when it boils. If yours doesn’t, keep it at a rolling boil for 30 seconds before continuing with the recipe.) Place a wooden spoon across the pot to avoid bubbling over, and lower heat briefly. When foam has settled, return to medium heat, continuing to boil for a total of 10 minutes from the time that milk was added, until the liquid has reduced by ? and has a deep tan color. If the foam continues to rise, lower heat slightly.
• Remove from heat. Using a strainer, strain tea into 4 teacups. (For a frothy chai, pour the chai from one cup to another a few times until bubbles form.) Add about 1 tsp. sugar (or more to taste) per cup, and serve immediately.
• Swap or add in one or all of these spices to make a different cup of chai: 2 tsp. dried mint, 8 cloves (coarsely crushed), one 4-inch cinnamon stick (crushed into smaller pieces).