I have a little obsession with chai tea, that smell of warm scented cinnamon can shift me even at my most frazzled to feeling relaxed and calm. I’ve unknowingly passed this obsession onto one of my sons who loves a cup of chai after dinner before bed.
Sounds perfectly delightful until I realized that we were churning through a jar of the purchased wet chai blend on a weekly basis that was adding up to around $50 per month to satisfy our addiction! Good Lord, there must be a way to make this at home?
I set to work, and it hasn’t been easy but after a few weeks, I believe we have the right ratios and quantities to our liking. I buy my spices from a bulk store and even if you were to double this recipe, it would make some 30+ cups and cost less than $10.
The ratio of chai spices to tea is really a personal preference. I like to taste both. Some may prefer to just keep the spices separate in the fridge, and add the tea when you are ready to make a teapot. It’s entirely up to you. If you make it as per the recipe, depending on the strength you like, add 1-2 tablespoons of the chai tea blend to your warmed milk/water.
I think this is such a lovely gift to give and makes a perfect present for Christmas time.
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Chai tea for a month, home made, inexpensive and prepared in 15 minutes
Ingredients
For the Chai Spice Blend:
- 6 sticks of cinnamon
- 1/3 cup (20gm) star anise (approx 18-20)
- 1 tbspn (5gm) cardamon pods (approx 70 pods)
- 3 tspns cloves (10gm)
- 2 tspns black peppercorns
- 60gm sliced fresh ginger (no need to peel – about 20 slices)
- 2 tblspns warmed honey
Additionally:
- 1 cup black tea (85gm)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees, place all spices on baking tray and roast for 5 minutes until fragrant
- Blitz all spices in food processor or grinder until broken into much smaller pieces
- Place in a bowl and mix through the honey.
At this stage you can keep the mix as it is, you should have approximately 125gm of spice mix. Add a teaspoon of water and keep in an airtight jar in the fridge.
Or if you prefer to have the chai tea blend made up completely add the cup of black tea leaves, and a tablespoon of water mixing well before placing into airtight jar and refrigerating.
Notes
- Chai blend will last for several months in the fridge
- The amount you use is really dependent on individual taste. I use 1-2 tablespoons per cup
- Place desired amount into teapot and pour over 1/3 cup of hot water. Heat 2/3 of a cup of milk pouring this into the pot.
- Allow the pot to brew for 2-3 minutes before straining and sweetening if needed.
Hi there,
Just wondering if this would also work as a dry mix (if you omitted the honey and water)?
Many thanks,
Eliza