Want to pair your chai with some mindful breathing? For this recipe, we will make two cups of tea. Want more or less? Multiply or divide your ingredients up to achieve whatever goals you have!

 

GATHER YOUR INGREDIENTS: There are so many spices you can add, and this depends on you and your taste buds! For my chai, I use a stainless steel pot and these ingredients: black tea leaves, milk (or a dairy alternative), ginger, and sugar (or honey). You can also add cardamom, cloves, saffron, lemongrass, cinnamon, or really whatever tempts you to try out. 

 

LET’S GET BREWING: Bring a little bit more than two cups of water to a boil. Add two heaping tablespoons of yummy black tea leaves into the water. If you like strong tea, add a third spoon. I make my tea strong, and then also add more milk.

Add your preferred spices. If you’re using a spice blend, add in a small spoon of spice for each cup.

If you’re using fresh ingredients, grate ginger directly into your pot. I use a lot of ginger (as you’ll see in my video!), and how much you want depends on how spicy you want. It may take some experimenting to see what you prefer. If you’re adding in other fresh spices, add these in now too. For whole spices, grind them first in a mixer or with a mortar and pestle.

 

BREATHE: While the tea leaves and the spices float around in the water, take some deep breaths if you feel called to do so. Breathe in the aromas coming from the pot.

After two or three minutes of the brewing and breathing, add in your milk or dairy alternative. If you want to measure, add somewhere between half a cup to a cup of milk. 

How much you add is up to you. I add my milk in slowly until the tea reaches a light brown color. If you’re wondering what color I mean, look at the video above!

If you are making a stronger tea (if you added more tea leaves), you’ll likely want a bit more milk.

If you’re adding sugar (I do!), add in as much as you like. If this is your first time making this kind of tea, maybe you can try 1-2 teaspoons of sugar per cup of tea that you’re making. I make my chai extra strong and with extra ginger, so I also add more sugar too. 

 

STRETCH & CHAI: Bring everything back to a boil. This part is fun, because if you’re not paying attention, all that tea you’ve been working so hard to make might come flying up and out of your pot.

As your tea comes back to a boil (if your milk is coming from your fridge, it might take a couple minutes), get ready to turn down the heat as you notice everything boiling.

Once it comes back to a boil, reduce the heat to a point where the chai is still simmering and rolling around. We want enough heat to keep things moving around, and not too much so it doesn’t come bubbling out of your pot. 

Once we turn the heat down, we have a safety net now to do some stretching and laughing, if you’d like. I often do this. After a few minutes of simmering and stretching, it’s CHAI TIME.

Find your favorite strainer, your favorite mug (maybe mindful moo?), and pour your new favorite beverage. Need more sugar? It’s never too late to add more in!