chai for your weekend
Last week I decided to give up coffee. I’ve never been addicted to anything but I think I was becoming addicted to the ritual of a cappuccino each day. I would really look forward to the stirring, the sipping, the chocolate powder sinking into the froth. But then I realised that my iron was low and a friend told me that caffeine doesn’t allow your body to absorb iron. At around the same time I noticed that after a coffee I would get a few heart palpitations and generally feel a little off. I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t even enjoying the actually coffee anymore – I was addicted to the habit of buying it. Addicted to the ritual.
And so I scrapped one ritual and embraced another.
A cheaper, healthier and much more satisfying ritual – chai.
A sweet, spicy Indian tea that will become, if you let it, the most beautiful comfort drink.
This recipe is from my friend Kellie but keep in mind that the best chai is your chai. Feel free to change the quantities of the ingredients to suit your taste.
Chai
place 2 cups of water in a saucepan and heat
add:
2-3 slice of fresh ginger (don’t bother peeling)
12-15 cardomon pods (squash a little in a mortar&pessel)
half a cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon of cloves
small teaspoon of peppercorns (squash a little in a mortar&pessel)
one slice of whole nutmeg
4 teaspoons of tea leaves (I use a caffeine-free blend)
Let this simmer for about 20mins.
add:
one cup of soy milk
one cup of oat milk
or
2 cups of dairy milk
or
2 cups of whatever milk you like
Allow the tea to infuse for about 10-15mins
Strain the tea into another saucepan (to heat for later) or into cups.
Stir honey or raw sugar into your tea.
Enjoy. Om.
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Showing 14 comments
yum! Maybe I'll have to replace one of my cups of "normal" tea. Have a beautiful weekend. xx
my girls love this with hazelnut milk. sooo good. but we cheat and use chai teabags. i'll need to show them this and inspire them to do it from scratch! thanks for posting.
thank you for this. i am planning a little tea time get together with my new lovely girlie friends and this will be perrrrrfect!
happy sipping!
This sounds delicious. I can smell the spice just reading the ingredients.
Perfect timing…i'm giving up coffee tomorrow. Thankyou. I love chai so would love to try thes recipe.
I did this too! Back in November. Now I don't miss coffee at all and don't even really care for the taste.
I am going to try your recipe. I haven't used cinnamon or nutmeg in mine yet. I do use a couple of slices of fresh turmeric as well as the ginger, which is nice.
Happy sipping!
Yum!
I've been thinking that I'm becoming a teaholic. Chai could be the answer….have been looking for a store bought blend..but wow, I can now make my own…have already got the ingredients in the pantry. Thanks.
mmmm. I am a self-confessed chai addict. This is a wonderful homemade recipe- thanks! xo m.
i love chai and your recipe sounds excellent. i recently switched from black to green tea – like you, because of the caffeine. i still have a wee bit of caffeine through green tea – the antioxidant health benefits of green tea trump the tiny amount of caffeine. in my quest for healthier tea i also learned that the process to decaffeinate tea is pretty harsh. a green tea or even a yummy super rooibos could work well in this recipe.
cheers!
LOVE
i added one ingredient though…. a sweet little spicy star
Mmmmm. I love chai! CAn't wait to try your recipe! Such a treat.
hanks for the recipe!
you may not go back to coffee now you found chai!
we drink way too much, but really….can you drink too much chai?