Chai Latte

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon fennel or anis seeds
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 12 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 inch ginger root, thinly sliced (or more, to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 7 cups water
• 1-2 tablespoons of darjeeling or another kind of black tea (optional)
• Milk (soy milk is wonderful!)
• Honey or sugar, to taste
• Ground cinnamon and cocoa powder (optional)
• bay leaves