I really love drinking chai tea in the winter time, but I’m really picky about it. When I buy chai at coffee shops it’s often cloyingly sweet which I don’t like a bit. And buying chai tea bags just never seems strong enough. About two years ago I found this recipe and I haven’t looked back. To me it’s perfect. A well made chai feels nourishing when you drink it, you can feel those lovely spices warming up your insides and boosting your overall health. Ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves, are pretty amazing. Together they help stimulate in circulation, aid in digestion, lower cholesterol, strengthen your immunity, decrease the chance of blood clots, are anti-inflammatory, lower blood pressure, help with respiratory infections, and oh, yes, they taste fantastic too.

As seen above, you may package the ingredients up into little squares of cheesecloth to give as gifts. However if you choose to make this at home, I encourage you to let the spices float freely in the pan and then strain them into your mug to get a full extraction of flavor.

I like my chai with only a touch of sweetener, but you can sweeten this recipe as much as you like with honey or sugar or whatever sweetener you chose.

 My Favorite Nourishing Chai Tea Recipe

(serves 2)

2. T. loose leaf black tea
1 t. fresh or dried ginger
1 t. cardamom pods
1 t. cinnamon (or half a cinnamon stick)
1 t. peppercorns
1 t. whole cloves

Combine 1 1/2 c. milk and 1 1/2 c. water into small saucepan. Bring up to a simmer and add spices, simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. Strain, add sweetener of choice and enjoy! (If you’d like to turn this into a frothy, foamy latte, after straining I put it into my Frabosk Milk Frother. Delicious!)