Delicious Homemade Honey Chai Tea Concentrate
A wonderful way to enjoy hot or cold chai tea, this sweet and spicy drink is perfect for summer or winter. Simply mix with nut milk to create a tasty beverage!
If you like spicy beverages, this is the perfect drink that can be changed up for any time of year! It can become an icy cold beverage for hot summer months, or a steamy hot drink for the cold winter. This is a go-to drink that can easily be made for an afternoon treat.
Chai tea concentrate is easy to make, though it requires a number of spices. If you don't have these spices on hand, the initial purchase might add up. But after that you can make numerous batches with only a little bit of spice per batch.
The spices needed include green cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, anise stars, and peppercorns. Green cardamom pods can sometimes be difficult find. If you happen to have an Indian grocery store in your area, they are wonderful places to buy spices. Additionally, you'll need fresh ginger, as well as black tea, vanilla extract, and honey.
How to Make Chai Tea Concentrate
The steps are quite simple. First you want to crush the spices just a little to bring out the flavors. Put in a pot on the stove with water. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 20-25 minutes. Keep a good simmer going as this will reduce some of the water. You'll want about 4 cups after the reduction. After the spices and water have boiled, you'll turn off the heat and add the tea. Let steep for 5 minutes.
Once the tea has steeped, you'll need to strain the liquid into a container. At this point, it's time to add the vanilla and honey, then stir to mix. Let the concentrate cool to room temperature, then store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
When you're ready to enjoy your chai tea, simply combine equal parts chai tea concentrate and nut milk. Personally, I prefer unsweetened almond milk, but any type of milk will work. Add ice for a cold drink, or warm up for a hot drink. Enjoy!
*If you prefer to make a vegan beverage, honey can be replaced with another liquid sweetener. Date syrup or maple syrup are nice options. Simply follow the same instructions but replace with the liquid sweetener of your choice.
Delicious Homemade Honey Chai Tea Concentrate
Ingredients
- 5 cups filtered water
- 1/4 cup fresh ginger, loosely chopped
- 1 tsp green cardamom pods
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 tsp whole cloves
- 2 anise stars
- 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
- 4 tbsp loose black tea or 6 black tea bags
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup honey
- unsweetened almond milk (or other nut milk)
Instructions
- Gather spices and gently crush with a pestle and mortar. An alternative to this is to quickly pulse spices in a food processor once or twice. You don't want a fine powder, only the spices to be slightly broken down.
- Combine water and spices in a medium sized pot and bring to a boil on high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low-medium to maintain a decent simmer so that the liquid reduces a little. Simmer for 20-25 minutes. The goal is to reduce the water to about 4 cups.
- Turn off heat and add loose tea or tea bags. Let steep for 5 minutes.
- Using a strainer to catch the spices and tea, pour the concentrate into a quart size jar. (A large mason jar funnel with a small strainer on top works well.) Add vanilla extract and honey and stir.
- Let the concentrate cool on the counter. When at room temperature, cover and store in the refrigerator. Best used within one week.
- To make a chai tea beverage, first shake the jar as the concentrate will settle. Then simply combine equal parts concentrate and nut milk. Add ice for a cold drink, and heat for a warm drink.