The scent of cinnamon, ginger and clove wafting through the air is truly the smell of fall and winter for me. I can’t resist putting a pot of chai to simmer on the stove top while I get ready in the morning. There are so many variations on chai out there, here at Herbal Twist we have four. They are:
1. Chai with a black tea base and medium spiciness with black pepper being a bit more prominent.
2. Green Chai with a green tea base and medium to high spiciness with equal parts ginger to its cinnamon.
3. Rosy Chocolate Chai with a black tea base, the addition of the heart centring rose and bittersweet cacao.
4. Red Chai is our only caffeine free version made with rooibos tea as the base. It is predominantly cinnamon with some ginger and clove.
There are of course herbs other than cinnamon, ginger and clove that are in many chai tea blends such as star anise, and cardamom, but most of them are warming herbs that are used to stimulate digestion which is important as we move into a season of eating heavier comfort foods.
Wondering what is my most common way to chai? More often than not I reach for our herbal or caffeine free version, Red Chai with the addition of Astragalus for its immune boosting benefits. I simply bring a pot of water to boil, turn it to simmer and add a handful of each Astragalus and Red Chai. Then I let it simmer until I am ready to enjoy. Sometimes on a day I’m feeling the cold or a winter bug coming on, I simmer a large pot all day long taking what I want as the day goes on. In the first while I’ll drink it without adding anything, but as the flavours intensify, I add oat milk and some honey to make a bit of treat.
So, how do you chai? Leave your comments below or send me an email giving this tea enthusiast a new way to chai.
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