There are so many variations of chai tea available. And to be quite honest, my recipe usually changes every time I make some. I generally know what Indian spices I like the flavour of. I throw them in a pot of water, boil then simmer, add some loose leaf tea, milk (nut milk), add a natural sweetener and my heart gets all warm and fuzzy.
If you don’t follow this recipe exactly or if you don’t happen to have an ingredient, just use what you do have to see how the experiment goes. I’m sure it will be good, just the same and you will have created your family chai recipe to boot.
Spiced Chai Tea
Makes 2+ servings
1 cinnamon stick (approx. 6 inches)
1 inch of fresh organic ginger, sliced (no need to peel)
5 whole black peppercorns
1 tsp green cardamon seeds
6 whole cloves
1 star anise
1 Tbsp rooibos tea leaves (or 1 tea bag)
3 c pure filtered water
1.5 c milk (rice, almond, hemp, cashew, goat, etc)
honey or maple syrup to taste
What you do
- Place all spices in cheese cloth, wrap and secure the little package to later drop into a pot of water. You’ll need to break the cinnamon stick in thirds or half if you’re making the cheesecloth package. You can also skip this step if you don’t have cheese cloth and put the spices directly into your pot, but you’ll just need to strain the tea later or fish around the spices when serving
- Bring 3 cups the water to boil in a saucepan
- Add the spice package (or loose spices) to the boiling water, then reduce to simmer, covered for about 30 minutes
- Bring water to boil again, reduce heat to simmer and add the tea. Let it steep for about 5 minutes
- Add milk and sweetener of choice before serving, ensuring it is warmed through
- Strain if necessary
Enjoy!
If hot chai isn’t doing for you, maybe you’ll like my Chilling with Chai recipe instead.
Sharlene Styles
