Make your own iced chai lattes with this sugar-reduced, healthy version of chai syrup that you can make at home.
Ingredients
3 cups water
4 black tea bags - I used orange pekoe
1 vanilla bean, split in half
½ cup coconut sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
½ inch section of fresh ginger [or 2 pieces of dehydrated ginger]
2 whole cloves
2 cardamom pods [or ¼ teaspoon powdered cardamom]
¼ teaspoon aniseed
8 x 6 section of cheesecloth, folded over [doubled]
twine
Instructions
Directions
Option 1: Liquid concentrate - to be enjoyed within 7 days
Lay cheesecloth flat and begin placing ingredients on top. Begin with tea bags, then vanilla bean, ginger, cloves, cardamom, and aniseed. If you're using cardamom powder, sandwich in between 2 teabags to prevent it from dispersing into the mix. Bundle everything into cheesecloth and pinch together. Tie with twine and tie 2 cinnamon sticks with the twine.
Place water and coconut sugar in a medium sized saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and put the cheesecloth bag in. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Allow to cool before pouring it in an air tight container [mason jars works well] and placing in the fridge to cool.
To enjoy as an iced latte: combine 1 part concentrate with 3 parts non-dairy milk. Serve on ice.
Option 2: Concentrate packet - if you're giving this away as a gift, and you're not sure when the receiver is going to drink the concentrate, you can combine all of the dry ingredients in cheesecloth and give them instructions on how to make the concentrate when they're ready [below]
Lay cheesecloth flat and begin placing ingredients on top. Begin with tea bags, then vanilla bean, ginger [use dehydrated, or candied ginger to prevent the bag from spoiling], cloves, cardamom, and aniseed. If you're using cardamom powder, sandwich in between 2 teabags to prevent it from dispersing into the mix. Bundle everything into cheesecloth and pinch together. Tie with twine and tie 2 cinnamon sticks with the twine.
Provide the following instructions to the recipient:
To make your chai concentrate, place 3 cups of water and ½ cup coconut sugar in a medium sized sauce pan. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and place the cheesecloth bag in. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Allow to cool before pouring it in an air tight container [mason jars works well] and placing in the fridge to cool. To enjoy as a iced chai latte, combine 1 part concentrate to 3 parts non-dairy milk. Serve on ice.
Recipe by Healthful Pursuit at https://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2011/09/how-to-make-homemade-chai-concentrate-iced-lattes/