There are many parts of winter I don’t love. But tasty warm drinks and Christmas — especially the two combined — make the long cold months and much mud totally worth it.
Mulled cider and wine are my family’s holiday staples. Cinnamon and other spices make these tasty treats even more warming.
This year, I’ve added another spicy warm drink to our rotation: Homemade spiced chai. We will kick off enjoying this beverage today while cooking and tomorrow while opening gifts, but I will be making this all season long. For one, it is delicious. If that wasn’t incentive enough, it’s healthy!
Not all spice chais are healthy though — Starbucks chai tea contains 42 grams of sugar (for reference, a 12-ounce can of pepsi has 37 grams of sugar, a Snickers bar has 26 grams, a tablespoon of maple syrup has 12.4 grams and a teaspoon of honey has 5 grams of sugar).
Most of those grams, and the 240 calories, are in the sugar, honey and milk. The other ingredients are black tea and standard masala chai spices. I picked Starbucks as an example because they publish their drink info.
As I’ve learned through trying recipes at home there is no one recipe for this drink.
According to lore, the tradition of masala (which translates as “spiced”) chai (translates as “tea”) started a thousand years ago in India. We do know that before Brits set up tea plantations in the 1830s this drink was simply made from a blend of spices, without any tea.
Once tea became affordable for locals, and marketed to them, it became a popular addition to the traditional drink. Now spiced chai commonly contains traditional Indian spices, with local sweeteners and whole milk.
The spice mixes usually include green cardamom pods, fresh ginger, cinnamon, cloves and peppercorn. Others I’ve read suggest adding allspice, star of anise, vanilla, nutmeg, fennel seeds, bay leaves and some other spices.
I had some of these ingredients on hand, so tried making both a steeped version and a powdered blend mix. In the powdered version, I added a tablespoon each of cardamom, cloves, allspice, two of cinnamon, two or so of powdered ginger, and a quarter tablespoon of pepper.
I added a generous scoop to a cup of black tea, with a splash of milk and a bit of maple syrup to sweeten. It was tasty, but not as intense as I’d prefer.
Next, I tried more of an infused version. Into about half a pot of water I added two cinnamon sticks, several cloves, several peppercorns, slices of fresh ginger, grated nutmeg, and some ground cardamom (I’ll have to get green pods for a purportedly better flavor), and a dash of allspice.
These spices all have health benefit possibilities — from antioxidants, to heart, bone, digestive and other aids — of course, they can also have negative effects on some, so start slowly to learn how your body reacts.
I brought this mix to a boil, then let it simmer for a while. For family members who wanted a caffeine free version, I simply added milk and maple syrup. For myself, I poured the hot concoction over black tea before stirring in milk and syrup.
Wanting even more spice, I kept adding to the infusion until it was perfect for my taste. I hope it warms you and your family this holiday as much as it has me and mine.
ALDONA BIRD is a journalist, previously writing for The Dominion Post. She explores possibilities of local productivity and sustainable living in Preston County.
