Over the past 3 months I have been struggling with kicking the coffee habit. I will admit that I haven't gone cold turkey and I still enjoy a 1/2 cup on cold mornings when a hot shower just isn't enough. While tempering my coffee addiction, I started supplementing with soy chai lattes. I always loved the taste of chai, but since I was a coffee girl I rarely ordered them from my local barista, and never made them at home. Oh how the times have changed....Here's a super easy chai tea recipe from my virtual friend, Lola... This is a great recipe to make at home because the simmering pan fills your home with the delightful smell of spicy chai!
Lola's Awesome Chai Tea
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1.5 cups of water
1.5 inch cinnamon stick
10 cardamom pods
10 whole cloves
6 oz milk of choice (vanilla soy or almond milk works well if you are avoiding dairy!)
2 tea bags of unflavoured black tea (Darjeeling is a good choice)
Sugar/Honey/Agave -Sweetner-of-choice to taste
Put water in a pan and add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and cloves. Bring water and spices to a simmer and then cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add soy milk and sweetner (omit milk here if you intend to freeze the chai for later or make a latte - see note below) and bring to a simmer once again. Add tea bags, cover pan, turn off the heat and let sit for 2 minutes. Pour into cups and enjoy! If you have a cappuccino maker you can foam the milk instead of adding it to the pan.
This recipe will make 2 servings. You can easily double/triple/whatever these proportions, make the whole thing without the milk and then refrigerate or freeze the tea and spice mixture for easy chai-on-demand.
Keep it Fresh!
~ Terra
Keep it Fresh!
3HC