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What To Add To Chai Tea

Easy Vanilla Chai Tea Latte Recipe With Tea Bag

How To Make Chai Tea | Indian Tea

Enjoy an easy vanilla chai tea latte recipe with tea bag in about 15 minutes. This recipe is so easy and quick, and you’ll save a lot of calories.

Fancy coffee house drinks are a bit of a weakness for me. A few years ago, I would get a cup one or more times a week when I was out. If I was out without kids, you could almost guarantee that I’d be stopping at the locally owned coffee shop in town before I headed to the store.

As much as I love my drinks, I couldn’t keep buying them. They are expensive, and they are full of calories and sugar. I’ve been making my own skinny versions at home, and the taste is amazing.

You guys loved the pumpkin spice latte without coffee recipe that I posted last month, so today I’m bringing you this skinny vanilla chai tea latte recipe.

I wanted a recipe that was fairly easy, quick, and didn’t require any special equipment . After playing with the ingredients for a little bit, I think I’ve found just the right recipe.

Like most of my recipes, I’ll give you a few options of ingredients to use. You can use your favorite milk and sweetener.

Want a decaf drink to enjoy after the kids go to bed? You can easily make this a decaf drink with a decaf tea so you won’t be up all night.

Trust me, you will never miss the calories or carbs in this easy vanilla chai tea latte recipe with tea bag!

Brew Extra For The Week

Want to enjoy several cups throughout the week? Brew an extra large pot full and save in the fridge.

Triple or quadruple the recipe. Pour the extras into glass mason jars through a fine mesh strainer. Seal and store for 4-5 days in the fridge. Reheat as needed. Easy peasy.

Fun Fact

Did you know that the word chai means tea in several languages? So when we say chai tea were really saying tea tea. Technically, I should say masala chai, which literally means mixed spice tea. Oh the funny things that happen when cultures play together!

Here are some other funny redundant foodie terms:

Naan bread Naan means bread

Panini Sandwich Panini means sandwich

Shrimp Scampi scampi means shrimp

Queso Cheese Queso means cheese

Ahi Tuna Fish tuna is a fish and ahi means tuna so youre eating fish fish fish

Can you think of any others?

Discuss among yourself as youre sipping on a lovely cup of chai tea! Then let me know what you come up with.

delivered to your inbox. Youll get recipes, practical tips and great food information like this. Getty is a Professional Home Economist, speaker and writer putting good food on tables and agendas. She is the author of Manitobas best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, a mom and veggie gardener.

If You Drink Chai Tea Every Day Your Teeth May Benefit In A Number Of Ways

When making chai tea at home, don’t skip the cloves. These dried flower buds have many medicinal benefits, as noted by Medical News Today, but one of the coolest ones has to be their anesthetic properties. One study found that cloves, when made into a gel, possess the “potential to replace benzocaine as a topical agent before needle insertion.” In addition to inducing insensitivity to pain, cloves have also been found to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Of course, that’s not to say choosing to drink chai tea every day will numb all your aches and pains or cure your inflammation, but, thanks to its concentration of cloves, you may notice reduced teeth sensitivity when drinking chai daily. According to Medical News Today, cloves have also shown promise in lessening bacteria and plaque buildup. Chai tea may not be a cure-all, but everyday consumption may just mean better oral health and possibly fewer trips to the dentist and who wouldn’t love that?

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How To Prepare Chai

The process of preparing chai looks different from culture to culture, but the basic premise remains the same. Sanyal offers his technique for preparing chai below.

  • Gather key ingredients. This includes your tea leaves, milk, your spice blend, your sweetener of choice, and water. You can also choose herbs like mint for a cooling effect and added flavor.
  • Simmer two cups of water on a stove or in a kettle. Wait for the water to boil.
  • Add your ingredients. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of tea leaves, 3 teaspoons of your spice blend, and other desired ingredients to the warm water.
  • Brew for 3 to 5 minutes with the heat still on. Two minutes is the ideal length but you can continue brewing until you find your ideal flavor. Generally, it takes 2 minutes for black tea and 3 minutes or more for milky tea to brew.
  • Add sweeteners and milk to taste. You can use whole milk, oat milk, almond milk, soy milk, or any kind you prefer. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar or sweeteners based on how sweet you want your tea to be.
  • Let it boil and maintain a steady temperature. Most tea varieties will be ready within 2 to 4 minutes. You’ll know the chai is ready based on the color. Masala chai will become brownish, while green tea may become golden or slightly green. You can also watch out for the aroma once you start smelling the ingredients, it’s ready.
  • What Is Masala Chai

    How To Make Delicious Chai Tea How To Make Delicious Chai ...

    Chai is tea. Masala is the mixed spices that are added to the tea. The spice mix varies depending on where you sample your chai from, but traditionally it may contain any of the following spices:

    • Cinnamon
    • 2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
    • 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

    Method:

    Mix the powdered spices together in a jar with a tight lid. Keep the jar in a cool cupboard away from heat.

    To use:

    Use 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon per cup of black or green tea. Or make your own caffeine-free fermented black tea using tannin-rich herbs, like raspberry leaves or fireweed, from your own garden. I like to put this chai tea mix in the tea strainer or tea bag and steep it with the tea, rather than stirring it directly into the cup after the tea is brewed.

    Enjoy!

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    What Are The Chai Spices

    This chai spice mix is on the spicier side. We like our chai with a bite rather than a sweet spice mix so we added a little extra ground ginger. If you love yourself a sweet chai, try taking out some ginger and adding more cinnamon or even a teaspoon of coconut sugar or brown sugar. Have no shame either way. The taste buds want, what the taste buds want. DO YOU FEEL ME?

    We love mixing up our own chai spices so that we have chai spice ready in the pantry whenever were craving a chai tea latte or one of our favorite Fit Foodie Finds chai recipes. Yes, we have a bunch! Check them out.

    Selecting Spices For Chai Latte

    Spices are what make masala chai the drink we love. When it comes to which spices are essential, very few can agree and Id argue that that is a very good thing indeed. The spices you choose will make a chai perfectly suited to your tastes.

    Sheela spent New Years Eve in India, drinking masala chai, and reported In India, masala chai is definitely not as heavily spiced as it is here. Id get one almost every day from the inns we were staying in or little cafes, and theyd often be spiced with just cardamom, just ginger, or maybe a little bit of both. It completely changed my opinion of masala chai for the better because I just loved that you could really taste the tea and the spice rather than all the dozens of spices thrown in overpowering everything.

    These are the five spices that are essential to making a warming chai latte.

    The bulk bin is your best friend for making chai lattes regularly at home, as you can easily find whole spices that are fresher and less expensive than those sitting on the shelf.

    More of chai spices: The 5 Spices You Need for Homemade Chai

    Sweetening Chai Lattes

    I have a terrible sweet tooth, but find that a too-sweet chai latte masks the spices. You can use granulated sugar for sweetening, but I recommend brown sugar or even maple syrup, as their caramel notes accentuate chais spices rather than hide them. Add your sweetener to the warm tea base after steeping but before straining.

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    Starbucks Copycat Iced Chai Tea Latte

    One of my favorite coffee drinks to order at Starbucks is a Dirty Chai Latte. Just think, Chai Tea with steamed milk and 2 shots of espresso! Its seriously amazing. The spices from the chai tea combined with bold espresso and then frothed almond milk just make me happy. Dont want a hot drink? No problem.

    Living in Texas I CANNOT do hot drinks in the spring or summer. Its iced drinks all the way. So thats what were doing today, an Iced Chai Latte, and let me tell you youre going to love the flavors and the twist I take on it. Instead of espresso I make a cold brew mixture. Its easy peasy!

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    How To Choose Your Tea

    How to make Chai Tea

    Traditionally masala chai is made with loose tea leaves but now most people use processed black tea which is in granular or powder form. There are basically 2 different kinds of processed tea in the market CTC and Tea dust.

    CTC tea is produced by processing tea leaves through cylindrical rollers to Crush, Tear and Curl them, the resulting processed tea is in a granular or pellet form. This CTC tea imparts bolder and robost flavors to your masala chai along with a deep brown color.

    Tea dust is another kind of processed tea which is finer and is almost in powder form. Apart from these you can also make masala tea with black tea bags.

    In India tea is grown largely in 3 regions and each is named after the region Assam tea, Darjeeling tea and Nilgiri tea. Each of these have a different flavour, strength and taste due to the soil, weather and region.

    In South India, Nilgiri tea is more commonly used and everywhere else it is the Assam tea that is more popular. Again it is a personal choice and you need to try out a few until you find something that you really love.

    Assam tea is loved for its deep color and strong flavour. If you love strong tea known as kadak chai, this may be the one for you. Darjeeling tea is well known for fruity flavour. Nilgiri tea has a fruity flavour of the Darjeeling tea and strong bold flavors like Assam tea.

    If you dont live in India, then use any strong black tea you like.

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    What Is A Dirty Chai Tea

    Finally, there is the ever-popular dirty chai. When you go into any coffee shop, you will likely see this drink on the menu. A dirty chai incorporates espresso into the final mixture.

    First, the coffee shop will use whatever chai blend they make or have on hand. After, they will add the frothed milk as is typical for a chai tea latte. Finally, they will put in either one or two espresso shots on top to give the coffee flavor.

    Easy Chai Latte Recipe

    This Chai Latte recipe has the sweet and spicy flavor that you love, and can be made at home in just minutes. Its dairy-free, naturally sweetened, and makes a great healthier alternative to the kind youd buy at a coffee shop.

    As an added bonus, its cheaper and has no weird preservatives or additives. I love making it at home because I get to control the amount of spice and sweetness. You can simply taste as you go!

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    How To Make A Chai Tea Latte

  • To make a chai latte, youll make a quick chai concentrate, in this case, a very strongly brewed 1/4 cup of tea with sugar.
  • Next, foam milk on the stove, either by whisking vigorously or using a milk frother, and then just pour the steamed milk over the chai concentrate. Serve and enjoy!
  • Thats it. Super easy, super quick, super good.

    S To Make The Perfect Chai Tea Latte

    Chai Tea Mix

    Step 1: Heat milk in microwave-safe milk pitcher or measuring cup for 60-90 seconds so its warm, not boiling. Or heat on the stove in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally then remove from heat once simmering and pour into pitcher or mug.

    Step 2: Take your hand-held milk frother and submerge whisk just below the top of the milk, then press the power button.

    Step 3: Move frother upwards so that the whisk is half in the milk and half in the air for a couple of seconds to aerate the milk, and then submerge whisk fully, about half way down, never touching the bottom.

    Step 4: Slant the milk pitcher and the frother slightly, about 25 degrees.

    Step 5: Move frother slightly off from center and move up and down a bit, but staying away from the bottom of mug and top of milk.

    Step 6: Stop frothing when large bubbles start to disappear. The whole frothing business should take less than 30 seconds.

    Step 7: Pour beautiful micro-foam and milk over brewed tea. Check out our tips on how to brew tea.

    Step 8: Not sure how much tea and how much milk to use. We recommend a ½ a mug of tea to ½ milk/froth. Adjust the amounts of tea vs. milk to fit your taste to get to your perfect chai tea latte.

    Step 9: Sweeten to taste.

    Step 10: Sit back and enjoy.

    Read Also: Is Chai Tea Good For Diabetics

    Why Youll Love This Iced Chai Tea Recipe:

    • QUICK AND EASY: It takes minutes to make up these lattes, much quicker than going down to your local coffee shop!
    • SIMPLE INGREDIENTS: You only need three main ingredients to make this drink, so you have no excuses!
    • SO DELICIOUS: The flavor of chai is so comforting and warming. This is a great drink all year round, but I especially love the flavors during fall!

    Crafting A Chai Spice Blend

    If you want a very simple chai from ingredients you have in your cupboard you can put together a warming blend with cinnamon, ginger, peppercorn and cardamom. When we do new formulations, we blend by smell. When the smell of all the ingredients is balanced in such a way that you dont pick out one over the other, but instead they combine to be one integrated sensation, that is when you have nailed the proportions. Depending on the freshness and origin of your spices, these proportions can vary dramatically, so play around a bit.

    Otherwise, you can find our own signature chai spice with 100% organic ingredients, now available through our new project: CHROMA TEA. We incorporate more exotic additions like saffron, vanilla, tulsi, goji berry and burdock for perfect balance.

    Recommended Reading: Does Dunkin Donuts Sell Boba Tea

    Making Homemade Chai Mix Powder

  • 1Put all of the spices into a large bowl. If your spices are over 6 months old, buy new spices so they have a bolder flavor. Measure each of the following spices and add them to the bowl:XResearch source
  • 2 ½ teaspoons of ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
  • ¾ teaspoon of ground cloves
  • ¾ teaspoon of ground cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon of ground allspice
  • 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon of finely-ground black pepper
  • 2Whisk in instant tea, sugar, milk powder, and the nondairy creamers. Use 1 ½ cups of unsweetened or decaffeinated black tea and add between 1 ½ and 2 cups of sugar, depending on how sweet you like your chai. To make your chai mix milky, whisk in 1 cup of nonfat dry milk powder, 1 cup of powdered nondairy creamer, and 1 cup of French vanilla-flavored powdered nondairy creamer.XResearch source
  • If you don’t want to buy 3 different powdered products, use a total of 3 cups of any 1 of these ingredients.
  • If you want to add a chocolate taste to your chai, stir 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder into the chai mix.
  • 3Store the mix in an airtight container until youre ready to drink it. Your chai mix is good to use for up to 6 months. Keep it in your pantry in an airtight container, like a jar or a sealable bag, for maximum freshness.XResearch source
  • Remember to label the container so you know when to use the mix by.
  • If you added cocoa powder to the mix, use hot milk instead of water.
  • Your Heart May Benefit If You Drink Chai Tea Every Day

    Nina’s Kitchen! How To Make Chai -Indian Tea

    If you want to improve your heart health, choosing to drink chai tea every day may do just that. A study conducted in the United Kingdom in 2007 found that consuming three cups of black tea the main ingredient in chai per day reduced the risk of developing coronary heart disease. A later study conducted by researchers in the Netherlands, Germany, and the U.K. also found that regular consumption of black tea was capable of reducing blood pressure. “Although the effect is small,” the study noted, “such effects could be important for cardiovascular health at population level.”

    It’s not just the black tea in chai that can improve your heart health though. Cinnamon, one of the more prevalent spices in chai, has also been found to lower blood pressure, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol. Thanks to the serendipitous combo of black tea and cinnamon, which has quite a few unexpected health benefits, chai is essentially a superfood at least when it comes to heart health.

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