Soothing Chai
Today was the first day since June that I did not wear my flip flops. That means only one thing: the cold weather is here.
Although yesterday was warm and sunny, today we will dip down to a low of 35 degrees! For me, this chilly weather calls for one of my favorite beverages: homemade chai. With just a few basic ingredients, this recipe is easy, delicious and inexpensive.
6 cups water
2 cinnamon sticks
4 cloves
1 inch ginger, sliced
8 pods cardamom
6 black pepper corns
1 bag peppermint tea (or 1 tablespoon loose peppermint tea)
- Combine all ingredients in a pot and place on stove over medium heat
- Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 15 minutes
- Strain into mugs
- Serve piping hot with agave and almond milk
This recipe for homemade chai is simple and, on a cloudy day, very satisfying! Another vegan, dairy-free, lactose-free, gluten-free beverage for a chilly day. Enjoy!
Posted on October 7, 2007 in beverages by Elana
other entries you may like: Homemade Hot Apple Cider
or Hot Cocoa
or Cashew Milk
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Before you leave a comment...
"Check out Elana's FAQ page for info on substitutions -- there are just too many possibilities so she can't answer all of these : ) But the Forums are an excellent resource and I highly recommend posting your substitution questions there; everyone is friendly and helpful." -Katie
I love that this is caffeine-free as well! I can't wait to try it out.
i am not sure why you are using pepermint tea instead of black tea which is what is traditional with this combination of spices?
I've just gotten myself into a chai kick lately and I'm excited that I saw this here. Other chais I've seen have nutmeg in them, so I'm adding that to the recipe. It smells amazing and I can't wait to try my own homemade chai.
I love Chai lattes...do you know if this recipe will work replacing the water with milk or almond milk??
Thanks
Sounds like a nice experiment :-) I bet someone over in the forums might have an idea, or maybe even tried the sub already!
Several things to say...
First..this sounds wonderful and has to be the easiest recipe I have seen for Chai.
Second, to the person that asked about the peppermint tea, yes black is the traditional tea used, but it is also highest in caffeine, if you want it with black tea, use black tea. Still is great either eay. I personally use green or herbal teas in my Chai's because I am insulin resistent and therefor have to keep my distance from caffeine.
Third, yes you can sub the water for milk...or I usually make mine by using about 3/4 the amount of water and then subbing the rest with a milk product, my fav is soy. So for this recipe I'd use about 4-5 cups of water, then 1-2 cups of milk. Boil this together with the spices, but be VERY careful and do this in a pot about twice the size you would have used. Once the liquid comes to a soft boil turn it down a bit, the milk WILL foam when boiled and WILL spill over the sides if you don't turn the heat down.... Ask my husband...cleaning cooked milk off the stove is not fun!
Lastly...I'm soo happy to have stumbled across your site. I have been diagnosed with PCOS for about 14 years now, and recently was reading that about 65% of women with this are Gluten sensitive...so I'm slowly making the transition to gluten free with my husband to see what happens. We are trying to have a baby and hope this will help my health issues.