It’s raining here again. I’m ready to curl up with my comfy jeans and sweater with a warm cup of tea and watch the rain dance down my windows. Adding a book to the mix would make it all the more delightful! Recently we’ve had warmer weather. I’m glad that winter desired to show it’s face again for awhile.
There is nothing like a cup of tea to sooth the soul and warm the body. While I may be an avid mint tea drinker there are days when I need to add some spice to my life. How do I do that with chai tea of course!
When I make chai tea I like to use fresh spices that I grind myself. The flavors are much more bold and popping with flavor. Every time I make chai I make a large concentrated batch and store it in a quart jar. That way when the mood strikes I can mix some with an equal part of milk and reheat or drink cold.
Making your own chai is cheaper and so much better for you! You will only find good, whole ingredients in this recipe unlike it’s counter part at the store. This recipe makes one quart of strong concentrate but you can always make a second batch with the tea for weaker brew or you can put it in a small crock pot with some water for a natural fragrant potpourri.
I prefer most things slightly sweetened so please feel free to adjust to your personal preference. When I make this for myself I use about 3 TBS of raw honey.
Homemade Chai Concentrate
8 tsp of black or roobois tea
15 allspice berries
12 black pepper corns
8 cloves
5 green cardamom pods
4 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1 inch fresh ginger
1 vanilla bean
5 cups of water
small muslin bag, cheesecloth or fine mess strainer
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar or 1/4 cup raw honey (if desired)
1. Crack the allspice, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom and anise. If desired place all the ingredients including the tea in a small muslin bag or chessecloth tied up.
2. Add the spice/tea mixture, ginger, cinnamon sticks and vanilla to a medium sized pot of boiling water. Turn the burner down to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the muslin bag/ cheesecloth or strain through a fine mesh strainer.
3. Now is the time to add the sweetner if desired. Stir until completely disolved.
Makes about one quart. The concentrate will stay fresh in the fridge for up to one week. When ready to drink mix one part chai with one part raw milk, almond milk or coconut milk.
This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday,
Hi I was wanting to do this as a gift for Christmas. I wanted to know if I was shipping do i need to worry about refrigeration? I’m also wandering what happens after a week. Does the concentrate become bitter or just lose its spice flavor? I was hoping for something with a decently long shelf life if it doesn’t get used immediately around the holiday. Thank you for your response.
I would ship the spices without the fresh ginger, you can add dried ginger instead. I would not suggest shipping the concentrate. I have kept it for a couple weeks in the fridge but past that it will spoil. I hope that helps!
I have a deep craving for chai and I stumbled upon your recipe which looks and sounds delish btw.
I was just wondering how many black tea bags, if even possible, would be an equivalent sub for 8 tsp of black tea?
Hope to hear back soon, I’m so eager to try this:)
8 teabags is about the same. I hope you like it! 🙂
I don’t see what to do with the cinnamon sticks. Do I break them up? Or put them in whole? I am just trying to see if I can collect all the ingred. here in my city. Thanks for posting and sharing!
I’m sorry for not making that clear in the recipe. You put them in whole. I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for the reply. I was so pleased to be able to find all the ingred at a health food store here. My Chai concentrate is nestled in the fridge waiting for the weekend.
Blessings to you!
Wonderful!
Oh wow! I have tried chia tea a couple of times and fell in love but couldn’t handle the caffeine. I have searched for de-caf but they are far too expensive. I didn’t realise I could make this with rooibos. I have all the ingredients to make this and am very excited. I’m bookmarking this!
I would love it if you shared this with Healthy Vegan Fridays, a blog hop co-hosted by 3 bloggers. I’m sure our readers would really enjoy this. You can submit a post from Friday to end of Tuesday:
http://www.greenthickies.com/healthy-vegan-friday-30/
Thanks Katherine! I’ll stop by today.
Can you clarify something for me–do you steep the spices in the tea itself for 20 minutes? Thanks.
Yes you do, thank you for asking. I am going to fix that right now.
Yummy! I have a go-to Chai concentrate recipe that I have been using over the past year, substituting the sugar for honey, but I’m always interested in trying other recipes. Yours looks fantastic!!! Can’t wait to give it a go!