Black cumin chai.

Trying another Herb Companion recipe.

Another recipe from the Herb Companion.

I'd call it black cumin (Nigella sativa) chai. Here's their recipe:

Nigellina tea
1 cup hot (almost boiling) water
1 tablespoon finely ground black cumin seeds
milk or cream
honey
pinch of vanilla (or dash of vanilla extract)

Pour hot water over finely ground black cumin. Let draw for 8 to 10 minutes. Flavor with milk or cream, honey and vanilla, and serve.

Of course, I make my own vanilla sugar, so I'll use that instead of the honey + pinch of vanilla. It looks weird, almost purple, with the milk added. A quick taste: far too peppery. I think that's way too much black cumin. Unless it's supposed to be this strong, but really, it's almost undrinkable. Scratch that, it is undrinkable.

Another try, with ½ teaspoon black cumin seed: right, this one is tasty ... and that ½ teaspoon is strong enough for a second cuppa off the same seeds.

A note to authors, be it of articles or books: test your recipes before you let them into print. Or proofread them, to check that the amounts tally. Thanks.

For a different taste use the seed of any other Nigella. They're all tasty, and they're all different. Trouble is, unless you've grown the others yourself, you're unlikely to have a teaspoon of seed, whereas black cumin is available in quantity in ethnofood stores over here, and in herb stores all over the US.