With mortar and pestle, lightly crush cinnamon, cardamom pods, black peppercorns, clove, and star anise. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, crush spices with a rolling pin between 2 pieces of parchment paper.
In small saucepan, bring water to boil on medium to high heat. Add crushed spices and ginger and let water boil for 2 minutes. Add teabags and remove saucepan from heat, steep for 2 minutes.
While tea is steeping, use espresso machine steam wand or stovetop steamer to steam cashew milk until hot and frothy. With fine-mesh strainer, divide tea among 2 or 3 mugs. Top each mug with hot frothed cashew milk. Sweeten chai, to taste, with dash of maple syrup or honey, and enjoy!