Some of the spices used may increase healthy circulation, or have antiseptic properties.
Start by gathering chai spices
First, gather your dry ingredients.
You’ll need loose leaf green tea leaves, preferably a middle range Japanese sencha, or a gunpowder green. You can substitute teabags if necessary.
Fresh spices are preferable.
Always include chopped fresh ginger root, chopped cardamon pods, whole cloves, and a cinnamon stick.
For additional variety, you can add fennel seed, anise seed, star anise, black or white peppercorns, a dash of salt, bay leaves, allspice, or grated nutmeg.
If necessary, you can use small amounts of powdered spices when the whole or fresh spice is not available.
Boil the water
Boil your water for a cup or a pot of chai.
The spices need to simmer for at least 5 minutes, but the tea leaves should be steeped in your teapot, not boiled, so divide the water in half.
The spice brew can be saved in the refrigerator for several days (straining is optional), while the green tea should be used within a couple of hours.
Make both brews strong by using extra spices or leaves as you’ll be diluting your mixture with milk.
Add milk
How to make chai tea for one cup at a time: pour about half a cup of steeped green tea mixed with some of the spice brew to taste.
Add hot milk (yes, you can use rice or soy milk) and a small amount of your favorite sweetener or sugar substitute. Use heavier whipped milk for a chai latte effect.
For several cups, mix in a pitcher or teapot before serving. Sweeteners can be adjusted on an individual basis.
Stir with a cinnamon stick for fun, refill, and enjoy!
Does chai tea have caffeine?
If you use green tea, the caffeine levels will be quite low.
Using black varieties may increase the caffeine levels up to 5 times.
More recipes with a free subscription to the Green Tea Health Newsletter:
http://www.green-tea-health-news.com/how-to-make-chai-tea.html
Did you like this page on how to make chai tea? Here are more gourmet teaparty ideas
This page was last updated by Sharon Jones.
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