I love chai!!! Chai latte, chai green tea, chai black tea, chai oolong tea, chai herbal tea. But what exactly is chai? The name ‘chai’ actually is the Hindi word for ‘tea’ and it basically means: a mix of spices in hot tea. The spices normally used here are cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and black tea. I like to add anise star seeds and coriander seeds for a special note. You can increase or increase any component of the ingredients depending on your favorite taste.
Since I am trying not to consume too much caffeine (I am not a coffee drinker, but I am obsessed with tea, means for me up to 10 cups a day…oops, that’s probably beyond good and healthy), I try to drink as many different herbal teas rather black or green tea. The chai mixture in this recipe works perfectly with herbal tea. I love to add some fresh or dried mint leaves to it.
Homemade Chai
Prep time: 5Cook time: 0Total time: 5
Serves: 7
Ingredients
- 20 green cardamom
- 1 tsp. pink peppercorns (or black peppercorns)
- 1 tsp. coriander seeds
- 20 anise star seeds
- 2 whole cloves
- 2 tsp. cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp. ginger powder
- your choice of unflavored tea (black tea, green tea, oolong tea, white tea, herbal tea)
- paper tea bags
Instructions
- In a mortar, combine all ingredients for the chai mixture and grind well.
- Combine 1 teaspoon of chai mix with 1 teaspoon of your favorite tea. Add into one tea bag.
- Add tea bag into a cup. Add approx. 250 g of hot water. The exact brewing temperature of the water and steeping time has to be adjusted for the type of tea that you use:
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- Black tea – 205°F-210°F, 3-5 minutes
- Darjeeling – 205°F-210°F, 2 minutes
- Green tea – 160°F-175°F, 2 minutes
- White tea – 175°F-190°F, up to 2 minutes
- Roiboos/Herbal – 205°F , 3-8 minutes
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