I fell in love with chai tea when I was visiting my dad and his family one holiday season. I was probably 13 or 14, and at that time, I wasn't a coffee drinker, so my dad suggested having a chai tea latte from starbucks.
Coffee is amazing, don't get me wrong. Every morning I brew a 3 cup pot of coffee in my percolator, and when that is gone, I switch to tea. Since it is getting cold, I really like to keep warm, but too much coffee makes me whacko.
The first sip I ever tasted was so hot, and creamy, I was just in shock. Could tea actually taste this good? YES!
Well, since then, I've had about 50 chai tea lattes from starbucks (I'm a broke grad student so it's only on special occasions and also because they don't offer almond or rice milk, and I can't drink milk or soy and handle it well.), I've bought countless boxes of chai tea bags, and now for the first time ever, I've tried to make my own chai tea from scratch and IT WORKED!
The benefits if tea are innumerable, and when adding spices, like cinnamon, cayenne, clove, and nutmeg, you're gaining so many antioxidants! Click the links for each spice to read about what they offer to your health!
So, for the recipe, here is what you need:
Cinnamon sticks (or ground cinnamon)
Cloves (or ground cloves)
Nutmeg
Allspice (or ground allspice)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Black tea
Put one Tbsp of each spice into a grinder, pulse grind for 1 minute. If you have all preground spices, mix them all together in a sealed container. Add the contents of 15 black tea bags, or 5 Tbsp lf black tea leaves. Mix thoroughly.
When ready to make the tea, put a 1Tbsp scoop of the chai tea, into 8 Oz of milk and warm over stove (or microwave).
Use strainer over cup, pour tea from pot thru strainer into cup. Add one tsp natural sweetener, and you've got your very own chai tea latte!
To make regular chai tea, use water in place of milk. Just as good! I've even devoted a coffee pot just for brewing tea, since I make it so much and, also because you can use the filters with loose tea, just like you do with coffee! Genius, right?! :)
Prefect for keeping you warm inside and out on a cold, drab day.
How do you like your spices? Do you add cinnamon to many things in your diet?
Remember, enjoy and eat to live!
