chai tea recipe

I know that y’all are scattered around the world and that you might be looking out your window to a balmy, tropical scene… However, here in Denver, we are in Day 2 of the biggest October snow storm in the last ten years (maybe in the history of Denver… I’ll let you know when it stops snowing.)

I am not a cold weather type of girl, but I do love the first big snow of the year. Days like these cry out for books, a sewing machine and a pile of fabric scraps, and many, many cups of toasty warm beverages. This recipe for chai is my go-to concoction for blustery days… it’s from when Jordi lived in the middleeast and is gloriously delicious!

Homemade Chai Tea

Ingredients
4 cups water
3-4 cinnamon sticks
10 cardamon seeds, cracked
1 tsp cloves
1 nutmeg seed, cracked
1/4 cup sugar or 2-3 TBS honey
3-4 tea bags (black)
milk or cream

Directions
Put water and the spices and sugar in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boil for several minutes. Remove from the heat and add the tea and steep for 3-4 minutes. Strain into cups and add milk to taste.

Chai as a gift:
I LOVE giving this as a gift, especially in the cold months. I use a regular sandwich bag, and put all the ingredients for the tea, plus the recipe in the bag- then I fold the label over the top of the bag and voila, you have a perfect gift! These are great as holiday gifts for neighbors or coworkers! In the photo, I used a tea I brought back from the Middle East, but your favorite black tea will be perfect.

To print the labels, use this PDF (made for 8.5 X 11 paper. cut on the solid lines, fold on the dotted lines):
chai tea labels

And here’s the recipe as a PDF to include in the bag:

chai tea recipe printable

Y’all stay warm!

Edited to add:
If you want an authentic Arabian Gulf taste added to your tea, use evaporated milk. When the neighbor gave me this recipe, I didn’t realize that “milk” meant evaporated milk. My girls MUCH prefer the evaporated milk taste in this tea, but regular milk is fine too.