This has been our favorite, warming drink this fall/winter. Chai is surprisingly easy to make at home, and fills your whole space with the most lovely, festive scent. It tastes like pure coziness, and is also full of spices that are great for digestion and blood sugar stabilization. Today, we are sharing our favorite way to make chai (and a chai latte), which involves lightly toasting the spices, adding some orange peels, and not including any caffeine (though you easily can). We also have a new ‘day of eating’ video for you, which shows you the whole step-by-step process of making this chai :)
We both have issues with handling caffeine, so we generally completely avoid it, except for a rare matcha latte treat, a cappuccino in Italy, etc. Turns out that it’s totally possible to make really good chai by just steeping some spices in water, without adding any tea. We toast the spices for a deeper flavor and also add orange peel, which contributes a beautiful, zesty note.
Serving this chai as a latte really takes it to the next level. The addition of creamy plant milk and a little bit of sweetener brings out all the beautiful flavors in the best way possible. It’s like a soft, warm blanket in drink form. Hope you give it a try!
- 1 tablespoon cloves
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons whole cardamom pods
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- about 10 star anise
- 2-3" piece ginger - peeled if not organic and sliced
- peels from 1 organic orange - white parts trimmed off as much as possible
- 1" piece fresh turmeric - peeled if not organic and sliced (optional)
- 6 cups purified water
- a mug's worth of orange chai from above - hot
- 1 pitted date or a splash of maple syrup/honey to taste
- generous pour of any plant milk of choice or a handful of raw cashews
- In a dry skillet warmed over medium-high heat, toast the cloves, fennel, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, and star anise until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
- In a medium pot, combine the toasted spices, ginger, orange peel, turmeric (if using), and purified water. Bring up to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Strain to serve. The spices, ginger, orange peel, and turmeric can be re-steeped up to 2 times. Keep refrigerated.
- In a high-speed blender, combine the chai, date or maple syrup/honey, and plant milk or cashews. Blend until smooth and frothy and enjoy.
Thank you! I love the videos! I have your book too!
Thank you so much for your kind note Janice :)
You have such a healthy life. Love you video, feeling so peaceful and warm xD I love combining many spices into one drink, like a really huge advance. Thanks for sharing it and btw, Merry Christmas Anya and your family too ❤
– Natalie
Thank you Natalie! Merry Christmas to you. Some days are more healthy than others :)