Diy Chai Concentrate

nettle chai: the fortifier

intro:

Did you know that sugar, after water, is usually the second largest ingredient in pre-made chai concentrates like the ones used in most coffee shops?

In search of something beyond super sweet with a touch of cinnamon, this is part of the reason why I started making my own chai tea blends many moons ago. I wanted full flavor and the full potency of all that plant medicine goodness, minus the sugar spike. While I’m a sucker for slow processes, there are times in life when I simply don’t have 20+ minutes to make a single cup of tea. Solution: DIY Chai Concentrate! It captures all the magic of the traditional process, while making it more modern-life friendly. You still need to come up with 60 minutes of free time, but this effort will get you 10 + days of potent chai on the ready. I like to make this hour extra special by doing something nice for myself like take the dogs on a little walk-about, tuck into a good book, journal, or enjoy some yoga. I hope you enjoy this recipe, and please let me know how it goes. Happy making + sipping! 

☼

golden chai: texture like sun

DIY Chai Concentrate

Makes 1 quart of liquid chai concentrate.

ingredients:

6 cups of water

1/3 cup of sweetener (coconut sugar, honey + maple syrup are our favs)

6 tbsp loose chai tea

process:

Bring loose chai tea + water to a boil in a pot with a lid.

Simmer (covered) 60 mins.

Remove from heat and strain into a 1 qt. Mason jar. (a wide mouth jar will make life easier!)

Add in sweetener of choice and stir.

Place lid on Mason jar and allow to cool.

Store for up to 10 days in the fridge or freeze in ice cube trays for up to 3 months.

sip:

We recommend a Chai Concentrate to milk ratio of 1:1 for a creamy chai latte-like cup.

i.e. Warm 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of Chai Concentrate for a delicious 2 cup mug of goodness!

For serious tea drinkers, you may prefer a Chai Concentrate to milk ratio of 2:1.

Either way, remember you won't need to add sweetener.

extras:

Dirty Chai: add 1tbsp. of Chai Concentrate to your coffee.

Chai Cookies: add 1 - 3tbsp. of Chai Concentrate to your fav cookie recipe.

Chai Pancakes: add 1 - 3tbsp. of Chai Concentrate to your fav pancake recipe.

Chai Tea + Toast: drizzle a spoonful of almond butter + a spoonful of Chai Concentrate on a freshly toasted slice of sourdough!

You get the idea … endless chai spiced possibilities!