There is nothing better on a frosty morning than a big mug of fragrant Chai! I love the spicy, heavenly aroma of this spicy tea but do not love all the sugar in commercial mixes. I’ve purchased Chai tea bags hoping that they would satisfy the craving, but the watery tea doesn’t satisfy the craving for the creamy mixture I love. I had pretty much given up on drinking Chai when a good friend of mine brought this recipe to my attention.
I was driving home from the holidays (a very long 12+ hour drive) and saw my friends facebook post about this amazing looking Chai tea that cures all your aches and make you feel shiny and new again. Needless to say I stopped at the grocery store before arriving home and picked up the ingredients I was missing.
(The original recipe was posted on Facebook by author Elizabeth Gilbert. Click here to see her post.)
While I thoroughly enjoyed the original recipe I have tweaked it to fit my tastes. Here is my version of Elizabeth’s Big Magic Chai Tea Recipe!
Chai Tea Recipe
Start with 4 cups of water in a pot
Add:
2 Cinnamon sticks
1 to 2 inches of ginger, diced
1 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 teaspoon of whole black pepper
About 8 – 10 pods of cardamom, crushed.
Bring it all to a boil, let it simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes.
Add 2 green or black tea bags. I prefer green.
If available add a couple inches of vanilla pod sliced down the middle. I also add a small piece of Star Anise (not a full Star Anise). Be careful not to add too much— it takes over EVERYTHING.
Simmer again for about 5 minutes. If not drinking immediately let cool and then strain into a quart jar. Store in fridge for daily use.
In a small glass bowl mix approximately 1 TBSP of Turmeric powder with approximately 3 TBSP of honey. I love using a pampered chef prep bowl for this. Adjust these amounts based on your love of Turmeric and how much sweetener you like in your Chai. I leave this on my counter to use every morning. You can also mix your turmeric with your coconut oil instead of the honey. That would give you a little more control over your sweetener without getting overwhelmed by turmeric.
In the morning I take out my preferred mug, and fill it about 2/3 full of the Chai tea. Then I fill with milk (use whatever kind of milk substance you prefer) leaving about 3/4″ space at the top of the mug. I then pour it all into a pan and heat it.
While that’s heating I put about 1/2- 1 TBSP of coconut oil and of the honey/turmeric mixture in one of my Magic Bullet containers. ( a blender or food processor would work equally as well.) When the chai has heated to just below boiling I pour it into the Magic Bullet container, attach the blender and mix until all the honey and coconut oil have blended and it begins to take on a frothy yellow appearance.
Pour it all back into your mug of choice, sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy!
