Photo: Chris Emeott
January is one of my favorite months of the year because it celebrates National Hot Tea Month. Tea has long been a cherished beverage of mine—I’ve been enjoying it since I was 8 years old. With a sensitive stomach, however, I’ve had to steer clear of traditional chai, as cloves are particularly harsh for me. My mother-in-law, knowing this, sweetly prepares what she calls, “dip-dip tea,” which is really just regular tea made with tea bags. While I appreciate the gesture, I always felt a bit left out when everyone else enjoyed their rich, flavorful chai. After much trial and error, I perfected my own recipe using traditional chai spices to create a blend that captures the same warmth and depth of chai but without the discomfort.
Gentle Spice Chai
Serves 4
- 3 cups oat milk (You can also use dairy milk.)
- 2 cups filtered water (Do not use water straight from the tap. The chlorine in Edina water will ruin the flavor.)
- 6–8 green cardamom pods
- 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns
- 1/2 stick of cinnamon
- 4 teabags of orange pekoe tea or black tea (I use PG Tips.) or 5 tsp. loose-leaf black tea (I like English Breakfast from Coffee & Tea in Linden Hills.)
Bring the milk, water, spices and tea to a boil in a medium pot. Make sure it doesn’t boil over. Lower heat; let simmer on the stove for 20–25 minutes. If you use regular milk, skim milk skin off the top. Use a sieve or tea strainer to pour chai into mugs. Sweeten with sugar.
