When the days are gray and cold nothing warms up both me and the house like a batch of caffeine free, homemade herbal chai. There’s something so comforting about having a pot simmering on the stove, infusing the air with the rich scents of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cardamon with a pinch of chili powder for a little extra zing.
And the only thing better than the smell is sipping it in front of the fireplace with my nose in a cooking magazine. I can’t help think that people that complain about winter aren’t drinking chai.
Homemade Herbal Chai
Ingredients
- 6 cups water
- ⅓ coconut sugar or other natural sweetener of your choice
- 2-3″ fresh ginger, sliced
- 5 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- 2 vanilla beans
- 5 star anise
- 15 cloves
- 8 allspice
- 2 Tbsp cardamom pods
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- 8 rooibos tea bags
- Milk of your choice
Instructions
- In a medium pot, bring the water and sweetener to a boil and simmer until the sweetener is fully dissolved.
- Add all of the spices, and continue to simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.
- Remove the mixture from the heat, add the tea bags, and let them steep for 15 minutes.
- Strain out the spices and tea bags and store your chai concentrate in the fridge.
- To serve mix one part chai concentrate with one part milk. Gently heat in a small saucepan until it reaches the desired temperature.
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