Homemade Warming Chai Tea

I decided to quit procrastinating about making some home made chai tea for a while. I am sure everyone gets those days when you think of something nice that you would like to eat or drink  but feel as if you have no time to make it. This is how I had been feeling in regards to making chai tea. With yet another grey and cold day here in England I finally made up my mind to make this lovely, warming chai tea with its host of healthy benefits. The tea contains a mix of herbs and spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg amongst others. There are some really good health benefits to be gotten when making this tea from scratch using whole food and where possible organic ingredients and drinking it fresh. Some of the notable benefits are; providing antioxidants and phytochemicals

 from the ginger, cinnamon and cardamom,boosting the immune system and warming up when cold, the tea also boosts energy levels and metabolism too. With benefits like these, I couldn't wait to make some chai tea and it really did surpass my expectations being warming, spicy and most importantly delicious. It is definitely something I will make again and again over the winter months.

INGREDIENTS

1 and a half cups of almond milk (or any non dairy or nut milk preferred)

2 Tbsp loose black tea or two teabags of regular tea

8 Cloves

10 cardamom pods

Half a tsp of black peppercorns

1 Level tsp of freshly ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 to 3 pieces of fresh stem ginger

2 star anise

2 drops of vanilla extract (vanilla bean pod and pure vanilla can also be used)

1 Tbsp of  healthy sweetener of choice, (I used coconut nectar but raw honey can be used if part of your diet or any low GI sweetener like xylitol, maple syrup, date molasses to name a few)

METHOD

Grind all of the dry ingredients including the ginger excluding the star anise

Add the milk to a saucepan and simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the ground mix of spices to the saucepan of milk

Add the star anise and sweetener of choice

Simmer the mixture for another 3 to 5 minutes

Remove the saucepan from the heat source and set aside 

Add the vanilla to the tea and stir thoroughly

Strain the tea into a teacup or mug to remove the herbs and spices

Bottoms up! and enjoy your very own homemade chai tea.

~ E xx