What is chai mocha?

Chai mocha is a spiced tea with milk and chocolate syrup. Just like a regular tea mocha, chai mocha tastes super indulgent too. The usual mocha drinks are made with steamed milk, but this recipe is following the classic chai making procedure – simmering all ingredients in water and milk. Why should you bother with the longer process and simmer the ingredients rather than simply brewing a cup of spiced tea and adding steamed milk? The answer is quite simple. Simmering will release much more flavour than brewing. If you want to learn more, check this article here.

Ingredients

Black tea leaves

Proper black tea leaves are a base of any classic chai, spiced or not. The most common tea used for making chai is Assam tea, however, some other types may work well too. Your tea doesn’t need to be of the highest quality. In fact, cheaper types such as CTC are even better. However, it’s absolutely essential it is fresh and not stale, and has lots of flavour.

Spices

Depending on your preferences, you can use more or less spices. For a lightly spiced tea, use the amount of spices specified in the recipe. If you want a more aromatic drink, you can double the amount of spices, but do it only with one of them – not all.

Milk

Use whole milk rather than skimmed or semi-skimmed milk. A good chai should have a good texture and it shouldn’t be watery. You can also replace most of the water with milk.

Chocolate syrup and sweeteners

You can use either a homemade chocolate syrup or a pre-made chocolate syrup. Either will be fine. Chocolate syrups are usually quite sweet, so don’t add too much sugar into tea. ½ teaspoon will be enough to balance out any bitterness from black tea leaves.

Find the recipe for chocolate syrup here.

Whipping cream

Whipping cream will add that final delicious touch to chai mocha. Mocha drinks are usually served with whipped cream although this is optional. In this recipe, whipping cream is only lightly whipped, so it has a consistency of a thicker liquid cream, stays on the top and is easily mixed into a drink. Add ½ teaspoon of black sugar if the cream is unsweetened.

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Homemade Chai Mocha

Delicious spiced chai with chocolate syrup

Course Drinks

Keyword Black Tea, Chai, Chocolate

Prep Time 4 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Equipment

• saucepan
• Pestle and mortar
• Serving glass
• strainer

Ingredients

• 1 ½ teaspoon of Assam black tea
• ½ teaspoon of light brown sugar
• 160 ml of whole milk
• 160 ml of water
• 1 cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 1 cm Ceylon cinnamon stick
• 3-4 teaspoons of chocolate syrup
• 50 ml whipping cream
• ½ teaspoon of light brown sugar for shipping cream if unsweetened

Instructions

• Add spices into a pestle and mortar and crush them.
• Add spices into a small saucepan, turn the heat to high and dry roast them until fragrant.
• Add water and bring it to a boil.
• Reduce to medium heat and add tea leaves. Simmer for 2 minutes.
• Add milk and sugar and bring it to a boil again, then reduce and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
• Pour the tea into a serving glass.
• Add chocolate syrup.
• Whip the whipping cream until creamy but not stiff (soft peaks).
• Top up chai mocha with whipped cream.  

More Chai Recipes

The post Chai Mocha – Indulgent Spiced Tea with Chocolate Syrup appeared first on All That Tea.

What does it taste like?

What’s in Teapigs Chai Tea?

Teapigs Chai Tea is a chai tea that’s widely available from supermarkets and online. It comes as loose tea and as loose tea in pyramid tea bags, or temples, as Teapigs call them.

Loose tea in pyramid tea bags is the same type of tea you’d use with a teapot or an infuser. It’s different from classic tea bags that contain fannings and dust, and pyramid tea bags allow enough space for leaves to fully expand.

So, what’s in this chai?

Most chai teas are blended with strong Assam tea, as it offers a perfect rich base for adding milk. Teapigs Chai tea is made with Assam black tea too, but in a CTC style. It also contains pieces of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, vanilla and natural flavourings. Cinnamon and vanilla are the main scents in this blend, which is not as common in a regular, heavily spiced masala tea.

What are CTC teas?

CTC Assam black tea is a brilliant choice for chai teas. CTC or crush-tear-curl teas have small leaves that look like tiny pellets. This style is common in India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and even Vietnam. This style is used only for black tea. CTC teas usually give a stronger infusion than whole leaf which makes them perfect for making milk teas. And that includes chai too.

What does it taste like?

Tea bags are usually intended for regular brewing; however, you can simmer them too. Simmering is a great way to extract more flavour and improve the texture of chai tea. It’s a wonderful method if you plan to add a sweetener. If not, simmered tea may become too bitter, so regular brewing is a better option.

To make a cup of Teapigs chai tea, use 150 water per one tea bag. Steep for 5 minutes at 100 degrees Celsius and add a splash of milk. If you want to simmer it, use 2 tea bags per cup of water and 1/2 cup of milk and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Teapigs Chai is blended with whole spices which will naturally release less flavour when steeped then simmered. This tea is stronger on cinnamon and vanilla than other chai teas and perhaps a slightly lighter on the spices.

However, it’s great for tea drinkers that want a gentler and still slightly spiced blend. It has no bitterness and smells beautiful. This tea goes very well with milk, but because of its lightness, a splash will often be enough, depending on how you brew it.

If you love heavily spiced strong chai blends, Teapigs chai tea may be too light for you. But if you love sweet cinnamon teas that are light enough to be enjoyed with no condiments, you’ll very likely love this tea too.

Extra idea – if you want to release more flavour from cardamom and other ingredients, gentle crush the tea bag using a pestle and mortar. Be careful not to break it – crush only the spices.

Teapigs Chai Tea Recap

Water or milk? Water or water, a splash of milk.

Day or night? Day.

Hot or iced? Hot.

Sweetened or Pure? Pure or with a teaspoon of sugar or honey.

Caffeine? Yes

What’s the price? Starting from 2.00 GBP.

Where to buy? Get it from Teapigs website, Amazon or Ocado.

The post Teapigs Chai Tea appeared first on All That Tea.

Well, not quite.

Spice Imperial is one-of-a-kind spiced tea with such a mesmerizing scent and flavour it will easily become a top choice for a daily drinking and afternoon tea.

It’s a blend to make all your spiced tea dreams come true.

What is Spice Imperial?

Spice Imperial tea is a black tea blend from Whittard of Chelsea. Whittard knows how to make exquisite classic tea blends and Spice Imperial is absolutely delicious.

Spice Imperial tea contains a strong but mellow black tea, orange peel, cloves, safflower petals, natural bourbon vanilla extract and flavourings. While these ingredients may seem like common ingredients for a spiced tea blend, in this blend, they create a flavour and scent that’s far from common. It’s incredibly inviting and so super delicious this will easily become your favourite spiced dessert tea ever.

What makes this blend really unique and different from a regular spiced blend is that it actually contains only one spice – cloves, and a refreshing zesty orange. Spice Imperial is not an orange tea though. Instead, orange peel gives a light and appealing citrusy touch that makes this whole blend really shine.

This tea smells incredibly delicious, with dominant, but not overpowering, zesty orange notes wrapped into a sweet vanilla, cloves and black tea aroma. What’s also incredible is that you can smell all the ingredients separately, and yet they make for a perfectly balanced blend. It’s one of those blends that will fill the air with a warming aroma and make you look forward to that first sip.

What does it taste like?

When a tea smells so divine as Spice Imperial, you would expect nothing less from the flavour.

To make a perfect cup, use 1-1 ½ teaspoon of tea leaves per cup of water, steep for 3-5 minutes at 98 degrees Celsius.  

Another great thing about this tea is that it won’t get bitter, which makes it great for tea drinkers that are always in a rush and forget they were making a cup of tea. You can over-brew it and still enjoy a delicious flavour with no bitterness. It’s great on its own with no condiments, but you can add some as well.

Spice Imperial has a light astringent and smoky finish that carries all other flavour notes extremely well. Cloves are gently lingering in the back, orange peel offers a refreshing citrusy touch, and the light sweetness incorporated into a mellow and slightly smoky black tea base.

Although this tea doesn’t need any condiments, it tastes just as great with a splash of milk and some honey or brown sugar. Many spiced teas go well with milk and sugar, but what’s surprising is that Spice Imperial tastes just as great iced, and has a flavour that’s refreshing enough to enjoy it during hot weather too.

Who would like this tea? If you love orange and clove blends, you will love this tea too. But Spice Imperial is much more than a simple spiced blend. It’s a warming and refreshing tea with so much elegance that you can easily serve it at your afternoon tea party and know everyone will like it. At the first glance, this tea may look like a festive blend, but it’s much more than that. It’s elegant and classic and may appeal to tea drinkers that prefer sophisticated citrusy teas, such as lighter earl grey.

Spice Imperial Tea Recap

Water or milk? Water (or a splash of milk).

Day or night? Day.

Hot or iced? Hot.

Sweetened or Pure? Pure or with a teaspoon of honey.

Caffeine? Yes

What’s the price? Starting from 8.00 GBP.

Where to buy? Get Spice Imperial from Whittard of Chelsea website.

The post Spice Imperial – Sophisticated Spiced Black Tea from Whittard appeared first on All That Tea.

What are cranberries?

Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) are small red berries with a very tart flavour. Dry cranberries are readily available in supermarkets around the world, while the fresh ones are usually available only in late autumn. Fresh cranberries will last in the fridge for a month or so, making them a perfect ingredient for early winter drinks. Cranberry juices and cranberry sauces are widely available too, but if you have a chance to enjoy them fresh, you definitely won’t regret it.

Cranberries are a common ingredient in tea blends too, especially those with a zesty and tart flavour. They go well with green and black tea, and other zesty and fruity ingredients.

Additional ingredients you can try adding to homemade cranberry tea:

• Fresh apples
• Hibiscus
• Orange

Cranberry benefits

Cranberries make for a delicious homemade drink, and they may provide additional benefits too. In fact, because of their numerous potential benefits, they are considered superfood. Studies showed cranberries may help with urinary tract infections and that’s probably one of their most important benefits. But, it’s not the only one. They may also help protect against heart diseases (1) by lowering cholesterol and reducing inflammation and may help boost the immune system (2). With the amazing flavour and significant benefits, cranberry tea will easily become your favourite drink.

How to make cranberry tea from fresh cranberries?

There is a thin line between a tea and a juice, especially when you are using fresh ingredients. Juices are usually simply juiced from fresh fruits. Then, water may or may not be added to dilute them, depending on your preferences. Unlike with tea, there’s no boiling or steeping. On the other hand, tea or an herbal infusion always includes steeping either real tea leaves (tea) or other fresh or dried ingredients (infusion) in water. However, some fruit such as cranberries are better simmered than steeped.

You can make cranberry tea from both fresh and dried cranberries, but with different results. Simply steeping them won’t be enough. Dried cranberries are usually sweetened and will release much less flavour than fresh fruits. Thankfully, making cranberry tea from fresh cranberries is super simple, as you will only need to wash and simmer them.

Spiced cranberry tea recipe ingredients

Fresh cranberries – cranberries are usually available in late autumn, but they can keep in the fridge for a month or even longer. However, you can make a delicious cranberry tea using frozen cranberries too. Once they are in season, wash and freeze them (whole) and thaw before using.

Spices – use whole, crushed spices rather than spice powders. They will give a more complex flavour and a clear liquor. Although spices do not really expire, they will lose their flavour over time, so always check before using them in recipes.

Sugar – any type of sugar will go well with this recipe. For a more neutral flavour, choose white granulated sugar or brown sugar for a nuttier warmer notes. Honey will work well too. If you want to avoid sugars, try it with sugar alternatives.

Print

Spiced Cranberry Tea

Delicious,zesty, sweet, juicy spiced cranberry tea

Course Drinks

Keyword cranberries, fruit tea, Spiced Tea

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Equipment

• saucepan
• Kitchen strainer
• Pestle and mortar

Ingredients

• 50 grams fresh cranberries whole and unpeeled, washed
• 400 ml water
• 1/3 small cinnamon stick
• 1 whole star anis
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1-2 teaspoons sugar

Instructions

• Gently crush the spices using pestle and mortar.
• Add spices and water into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil.
• Add cranberries and reduce the heat. Let it simmer for 30 minutes, covered.
• Strain into a cup, add sweetener and enjoy.

Sources:

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3823508/

(2) https://www.rutgers.edu/news/rutgers-researcher-discusses-health-benefits-cranberries

The post Homemade Cranberry Tea appeared first on All That Tea.

What is White Christmas tea?

White Christmas comes from Rosie Lea Tea, a UK tea shop with many unique blends, including a whole range of teas inspired by literature and desserts. This Christmas tea is unique too. White tea holiday blends are far less common than black tea and fruit tea blends. What’s makes white tea especially great for winter blends is that it can offer an amazing opportunity to bring snowy lightness into a cup.

This festive tea blend really smells like white Christmas. Because of cinnamon chips, orange peel and cloves, at first, this tea may look like a blend of common festive ingredients. But then, there are pine needles and sugar stars, and together with other ingredients, they create a festive blend that gives a feeling of strolling through a pine wood forest covered in snow.

Pine needles are still not a common ingredient in tea blends. They can be used together with other ingredients or on its own as an herbal tea.

Clove may be the most prominent scent, but this is not just a typical spiced tea with cloves. Together with pine needles and white tea, it creates a scent that welcoming, warming and reminding of that feeling you get when you bring a Christmas tree into your home.

How to brew this tea?

White Christmas is a white tea blend, keep the water temperature below 80 degrees Celsius. Step 1-2 teaspoon of tea leaves per cup of water at 80-85 degrees Celsius for 3 minutes.

It’s a very delicate, but festive blend with no bitterness and a balanced light flavour. None of the ingredients are overpowering, and together they create a gentle warming hug in a cup with very light sweet notes, rather than a heavily spiced tea.

Orange peel is a wonderful ingredient for blends that require lower water temperatures, as it will give delicate notes without overpowering the blend.

This tea is very easy to drink and is best served with no condiments. You can re-steep the same tea leaves, without losing light and festive flavour.

This tea would be great for tea drinkers that love the scent of Christmas trees, spiced teas and more delicate gentler blends.

The post White Christmas Tea appeared first on All That Tea.

What is Mulled Wine tea?

Mulled wine is a hot drink made with red wine, oranges, spices and sugar or honey. There’s no doubt mulled wine is delicious and just perfect for cold winter nights, but if you want an alcohol-free alternative, although it may sound unlikely, mulled wine teas may actually offer the same experience too.

Mulled Wine tea from Whittard is a fruit tea blend with some ingredients that are typically not common in a mulled wine tea blend – apples, hibiscus, sweet blackberry leaves and roasted chicory root. All of them are naturally caffeine free. Because of its earthy and slightly bitter flavour, roasted chicory root is probably the most known as a caffeine-free coffee alternative. This blend doesn’t contain any artificial sweeteners or sugar. Instead, a light sweeteness comes from sweet blackberry leaves. Dry tea smells very rich and fruity, with lots of zestiness, sweetness and deeper earthy notes.

How to brew this tea?

To make the best cup, use 2 rather than 1 teaspoon of tea per cup of water. Steep for 5 minutes at 100 degrees Celsius. This blend contains smaller, uniformed particles to offer a really rich infusion. If you are looking for a complete mulled wine experience, you can simmer it on the stove instead.

What’s truly amazing about this Mulled Wine tea blend is that it actually feels like a rich but gentle, real mulled wine. It has so much depth and richness, some tartness, fruitiness, sweetness and even a slight tannic note, with light clove notes. Each and every ingredient in this blend plays an important role to offer a flavour that’s as close as it gets to a real mulled wine. There are light tannic notes and depth from roasted chicory root, light sweetness from sweet blackberry leaves, tartness and zestiness from hibiscus and citric acid, and deep fruity apple base.

This is not an apple tea, and this is not a roasted chicory tea. This is a real holiday blend that you can enjoy completely guilt-free. If you prefer sweeter mulled wine, you can add a teaspoon of honey or sugar.

This blend is great for tea drinkers that love the flavour of mulled wine, zesty fruit blends and lightly spiced teas. If you love cooking with tea or want to make a holiday tea syrup, this blend would be an amazing choice too.

Need more inspiration? Find out how to make tea caviar with Mulled Wine tea.

The post Mulled Wine Tea by Whittard appeared first on All That Tea.

1. Christmas Greetings

When you think about Christmas, what’s the first thing that comes into your mind? Is it the Christmas sweets? Gingerbread men? Or maybe it’s spiced drinks? Christmas Greetings tea has it all. It’s made with sweet and earthy red rooibos, caramel and brittle pieces, sugar snowflakes, sugar gingerbread men and pink peppercorn, to greet you with the unmistakable Christmas flavours with every sip.

Price: 6.95 GBP

Type: herbal blend

Caffeine: No

Where to buy: Get Christmas Greetings from The Tea House website.

2. Nutcracker Christmas tea

Can you imagine Christmas without a nutcracker and a nutcracker without marzipan? This sweet rooibos blends is made with red rooibos tea, almond pieces, candied papaya and silver sugar sprinkles and sugar stars. It’s a pretty and festive marzipan flavoured blend made to set the Christmas mood from the first sip.  

Price: from 4.75 GBP

Type: herbal blend

Caffeine: No

Where to buy: Get Nutcracker from Tips & Leaves website.

3. Christmas Cuppa

For every tea lover, a Christmas cuppa may mean different flavours, but there’s one flavour that undeniably says it’s Christmas – it’s orange. Christmas Cuppa from BRUU is a tea blended with bold Assam tea and aromatic orange and sprinkled with rose petals. Who wouldn’t want to wake up to the scent of aromatic sweet oranges?

Price: from 2.95 GBP

Type: black tea blend

Caffeine: Yes

Where to buy: Get Christmas Cuppa from BRUU website.

4. Mulled Wine in Vienna

What would Christmas be without mulled wine? While there are many delicious, mulled wine teas out there, what’s super interesting about Mulled Wine in Vienna Christmas tea blend is that it contains mistletoe too. It certainly adds a spark to one of the most popular winter drinks in the world. Other ingredients in this fruity tea are apple pieces, orange pieces, elderberries, hibiscus, rosehip, and spices.

Price: from 3.95 USD

Type: fruit blend

Caffeine: No

Where to buy: Get Mulled Wine in Vienna from Churchill’s Fine Teas website.

5. Under the Mistletoe

If standing under the mistletoe is what you’re looking forward to the most this holiday season, there’s no need to wait. Under the Mistletoe blend contains mistletoe, pine nuts, eucalyptus, lemongrass and spruce needle oil. Berries and apple pieces accompany these wintery ingredients, to create a very unique, caffeine-free fresh herbal wintery blend.

Price: from 11 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: fruity herbal blend

Where to buy: Get Under the Mistletoe from Umami Tea website.

6. White Christmas

Who doesn’t love a white Christmas? There’s nothing more magical and peaceful than waking up on Christmas day, looking out the window and seeing the landscape covered in snow. White Christmas tea blend is gentle but wintery too – it contains more delicate white tea, a touch of sugary snowflakes, dried pine needles and a selection of warming spices.

Price: 4.95 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: white tea blend

Where to buy: Get White Christmas from Rosie Lea Tea website.

7. Red Christmas

No snow doesn’t mean no Christmas. Red Christmas blend contains South African red rooibos tea and all the warming and sweet ingredients to get you into the festive mood – apple pieces, almonds, cinnamon, rose and holiday flavourings. It contains no caffeine, which makes it great for late night sipping.

Price: 14.70 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal blend

Where to buy: Get Red Christmas from Chado Tea website.

8. Green Christmas

And yet, Christmas is green too. Think of magical Christmas trees, mistletoe and holly. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without evergreen trees and plants. Green Christmas is blended with grassy bancha green tea, orange rind, safflower and sunflower petals, cardamom and pepper. It’s a sweet, fresh and fruity green tea blend with a festive flavour.

Price: 5.90 EUR

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green tea blend

Where to buy: Get Green Christmas from La Via del Te website.

9. Santea Claus

Afternoon Christmas tea parties deserve a special tea blend. This Ceylon black tea blend with fragrant jasmine flowers, cinnamon, cloves, and sugar Christmas trees is colourful and fun – like a proper Christmas tea blend should be. Colourful Christmas trees and a unique combination of spices and jasmine flowers will undoubtedly bring a smile to your face.

Price: from 1.75 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Santea Claus from Tips & Leaves website.

10. Silent Night

Silent Night tea is a tea to offer a silent, peaceful night. This blend is made with red rooibos tea, which is naturally caffeine-free, warming spices including cinnamon, clove, allspice, nutmeg and valerian. Both valerian and nutmeg may help promote restful sleep, which makes this blend a perfect choice for a late-night treat. Plus, it contains a pumpkin pie flavouring.

Price: from 10.98 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal tea blend

Where to buy: Get Silent Night from DAVIDsTEA website.

11. Christmas Flake

Christmas flake is a pretty and festive blend that includes an ingredient quite uncommon in winter holiday teas – coconut. It’s blended with Chinese and Ceylon black tea, orange peel, almonds, coconut chips, rose petals and cinnamon. Sounds like a delicious breakfast tea, doesn’t it?

Price: from 3.25 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Flake from Colne Valley Tea Company website.

12. Brewdolph Christmas tea

This smooth and delicious tea is spiced with Christmas spices – cinnamon and cloves, Ceylon and Yunnan black tea, orange peel, and two other interesting ingredients – lime leaves and pomegranate flowers. This snowy Christmas tea makes a brilliant choice for festive afternoon tea parties. Available as loose tea and in pyramid tea bags.

Brewed and tried – read about it here.

Price: from 5.14 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Brewdolph from Twist Teas website.  

13. Christmas Charm

A part of the Christmas Charm is that it blends all delicious and common ingredients into a tea to get you into the festive mood. This blend is crafted with dried apple chunks, oolong tea, raspberry leaf, white mulberry, blackcurrant leaf, cloves, black elderberries, orange peel, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and cocoa. Spicy, sweet, zesty and herbal ingredients with an oolong base that sounds incredibly charming.  

Price: from 3.25 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: oolong tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Charm from Camellia Senses website.

14. Carol Singers Christmas tea

Carol Singers is a black tea blend with holiday spices – cinnamon and star anis, orange and chocolate chips for more sweetness, creaminess and joy. Blended to make you take a break and simply enjoy the moment by yourself or with your loved ones.

Price: from 1.54 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Carol Singers from It’s Tea website.

15. Christmas Star

It’s not only the oranges that are related to Christmas. Christmas star is blended with green tea, apple pieces, cardamom, aniseed, star anise, cloves and sugar stars. But this unique blend contains two more ingredients – cooling peppermint and mandarin, a small, sweet, delicious winter citrus fruit. If you want a zesty fruit, that’s not orange, mandarin is a splendid choice.

Price: from 1.55 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Star from It’s Tea website.

16. Sleigh Ride Christmas tea

To blend a proper Sleigh Ride tea, you absolutely need to make it fun. And that’s exactly what DAVIDsTEA did – blended a fun and unique Christmas tea blend with no caffeine and lots of interesting ingredients. This Christmas tea blend contains popped rice, beetroot, hibiscus, candied fruits, roasted almonds, cinnamon, raisins and even coconut. A perfect tea for warming up after an afternoon sleighing.

Price: from 8.98 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: fruity tea blend

Where to buy: Get Sleigh Ride from DAVIDsTEA website.  

17. Elf Help Christmas tea

Elf Help is a tea blended for Santa’s Elves, to keep them happy and smile while making sure all presents will be wrapped and ready in time. Fruitcake inspired flavour in a blend made with sencha green tea, black currants, orange, papaya, apple, cranberries and coconut. Need more reasons to smile? A liquid fruitcake should do the trick.

Price: from 4.99 USD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green tea blend

Where to buy: Get Elf Help from DAVIDsTEA website.

18. Christmas Breakfast

Christmas morning for sure deserves a special breakfast blend. This Christmas Breakfast blend is inspired by gingerbread flavours and contains smooth and robust black tea. With sweet and spicy notes, this tea will say it’s Christmas first thing in the morning. You can drink it pure or with a splash of milk, or even make a proper Christmas Breakfast latte.

Price: 12 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Breakfast it from T2 website.

19. Santas Milk and Cookies Christmas tea

If Santa could choose a tea for himself, it would be Santas Milk and Cookies. This black tea blend smells like freshly baked buttery cookies that are truly difficult to resist. It contains three types of flower petals and sumac berries and goes really well with milk, too.

Brewed and tried – read about it here.

Price: from 4.95 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Santas Milk and Cookies from Yawn Brew website.

20. Candy Cane Christmas tea

Candy canes are a sure sign Christmas is just around the corner. This fun Christmas tea blend is made to bring that festive feeling not only with its flavour, but with its appearance as well. Candy Cane is an adorable black tea blended with cornflowers and lots of sweet candy cane sugar sprinkles.

Price: from 9.00 CAD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Candy Cane from Tea at the White House website.

21. Panettone Cake Christmas tea

Panettone Cake is one of the most popular Christmas time desserts. This hand crafted liquified version of classic Panettone cake is made with black tea, orange and lemon peel, vanilla and calendula petals. And it even contains raisins. All the Panettone Cake ingredients are there. You only have to brew it and enjoy.

Price: from 7.00 CAD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea

Where to buy: Get Panettone Cake from Dessert by Deb website.

22. Spirit of Christmas

Spirit of Christmas is an unusual blend of green and black tea, pineapple, berries, coconut and flower petals. It contains cranberries, elderberries and cherries, another delicious fruit related to Christmas. This cheerful blend is great for hot and cold brewing, but it also goes well with milk.

Price: from 2.75 USD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green and black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Spirit of Christmas from Sisters Tea Company.

23. Red Truck Christmas tea

Red Truck Christmas Chai Rooibos is a personal Christmas blend, crafted from childhood memories of getting a Christmas tree. It’s as unique as a Christmas blend as it is as a Chai blend. Red Truck is made with red rooibos tea and all the spices chai should have – cardamom, star anise, ginger, pink peppercorns and cinnamon, and a handful of others that give a festive and unique charm including cinnamon imperials, vanilla and rosemary.  

Price: from 4 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal tea blend

Where to buy: Get Red Truck from Sisters Tea Company website.

24. Christmas Cheer

With three types of tea, the Christmas Cheer is more than cheerful. It’s a fun and unique tea that combines oolong, black and rooibos tea, flower petals, almonds and caramel flavour into a holiday blend that looks exactly like a warm fireplace. All ingredients in this blend go well with milk.

Price: 11.95 USD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: oolong, black and rooibos tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Cheer from Open Door Tea website.

25. Christmas in Love

Christmas in Love is a unique Christmas tea with calming passionflower and lemon verbena, zesty lemon, rose hips, apple and hawthorn, and spicy ginger and cinnamon. It’s a caffeine free and festive blend for late night sipping during a holiday season to get relaxed and ready for another cheerful day.

Price: 5.90 EUR

Caffeine: No

Type: fruity herbal tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas in Love from La Vie del Te website.

The post 25 Festive Christmas tea blends to Try This Christmas appeared first on All That Tea.

What is Herbal Sticky Chai?

Herbal Sticky Chai comes from Chala Chai, a company that specialised in chai products. It’s made with herbal, caffeine free red rooibos tea, cinnamon, star anise, fresh ginger, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, fennel seeds, black peppercorns and almost raw Northern Irish honey. In fact, this blend contains almost 30% of honey, and over 50% of spices, so expect a delicious, naturally sweet and spicy flavour.

Sticky Chai blends are like regular chai blends but contain a sweetener like honey that binds the ingredients and makes the blend look wet. What makes sticky chai great is that you don’t need to worry about ratios or adding a sweetener – it’s already naturally sweet.

Herbal Sticky Chai is a chai blend that contains all the ingredients needed to make a perfect caffeine-free chai – including honey.

This tea smells delicious, with deeper clove, cardamom and star anise notes, and lighter fennel and nutmeg notes. Ginger, rooibos and honey wrap it all up into a beautifully spiced, sweet and earthy blend that won the Great Taste award in 2022.

How to brew this tea?

There are different ways of making chai tea, and there are different ways of making sticky chai too. The easiest way is to prepare it is by simply steeping the tea leaves in hot water. Steep 2 teaspoon of sticky leaves in a cup of freshly boiled water for 5 minutes. Rooibos won’t get bitter no matter how long you brew it for, so it’s great for simmering too. This tea goes really well with milk, or you can enjoy it pure. Because it’s caffeine free, it’s suitable for a late evening sipping too.

Herbal Sticky Chai brews into a delicious, smooth, sweet chai that doesn’t need any condiments. Even though it’s a rooibos tea, rooibos is not overpowering. It tastes great without milk and even offers a similar texture and mouthfeel as a properly made chai. Sticky chai should be infused only once, as the honey will melt and spices will lose potency after the first infusion.

This tea is a wonderful alternative to regular chai, especially if you want to enjoy it at nighttime or if you are avoiding caffeinated drinks. It has depth, sweetness, spiciness, with a real warming touch of fresh ginger. Even if rooibos is not really your cup of tea, it doesn’t overpower this blend, but gives a perfectly smooth and deep base instead.

The post Herbal Sticky Chai by Chala Chai appeared first on All That Tea.

In western countries, there’s no wrong or right way to make or drink chai, as the word itself became a synonym for spiced tea. And, there are many ways to make it.

What is Chai?

Chai is an Indian tea made with black tea, sugar, water, and milk. Rather than steeping the tea in water and just adding a splash of milk, tea leaves are simmered in a pan together with milk. It’s highly aromatic, creamy and complex. It can’t be compared with a regular black tea with milk, although that’s exactly what it is – a sweetened black tea with milk.

Read more: Making Chai You Will Love – 2 methods compared

Proper traditional chai can be made (and often is) with black tea bags. Although it has an amazing flavour, it usually contains lower quality tea leaves. But low-quality tea leaves doesn’t mean bad or stale tea. Teas with broken leaves and tea dust will give a stronger flavour and are more suitable for making a milk tea than high quality gentle tea leaves.

What is Masala Chai?

Masala chai is a black tea with milk and spices. The most common ones are cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, fennel seeds, star anise, aniseed, black pepper, nutmeg and cloves. Each masala chai tea will be different, with a unique blend of spices and of a different intensity. The best tea is usually made with freshly crushed ingredients, to release flavour more easily.

Today, the word chai can mean:

• Black tea with milk made using traditional methods – authentic chai
• Black tea with milk and spices used traditional methods – authentic masala chai
• A drink made with an instant chai powder
• A drink made with chai concentrate where you only need to add milk
• Spiced black tea with steamed and frothed milk – western chai latte
• Tea made by steeping spiced black tea blend in water only
• Tea made by steeping spiced black tea blend in water and adding a splash of milk

And, it can mean much more. If you order a chai in any western country, you may need to be more specific about your preferences. But if you get chai from chaiwallah in India (a person who makes and sells it), there won’t be any misunderstandings – you will know exactly what to expect – a creamy, aromatic and delightful tea.

 Learn how to make masala chai from a scratch in only 10 minutes.

How to make Chai tea – 7 ways and their pros and cons

1. Make it by boiling black tea and fresh spices

If you are looking for an authentic experience, there’s only one way to make masala chai. Boiling black tea leaves and fresh spices in water and milk is the traditional way of making masala tea. Fresh spices are crushed, added to water, brought to a boil and then tea leaves are added and simmered together with spices. Milk comed next, and the tea is further simmered and finally aerated. Sweetener is rather mandatory than optional and it’s used to balance the flavour and improve the texture.

Ingredients:

• Black tea leaves or tea bags
• Fresh whole spices
• Milk
• Water
• Sugar

Pros of this method: the authentic way to make it, complex flavour, intense aroma and a very creamy texture

Cons of this method: requires time and patience and fresh spices

2. Make chai from a concentrate

Making it from a concentrate is the second-best method of making chai at home, providing you have a good tea concentrate. Tea concentrates usually already contain sugar, and you will only need to add milk. They are often used for making lattes, too. You can make your own concentrate or buy a pre-made one.

Ingredients:

• Pre-made chai concentrate
• Sugar if the concentrate is sugar free
• Milk

Pros of this method: saves a lot of time and it’s easy to use

Cons of this method: flavour and ingredients will differ from a brand to a brand

3. Pre-made chai blends

If you don’t know how to make chai and you never tried it before, it’s likely that your first encounter with this tea will be with pre-made masala blends, either loose tea or tea bags. There are hundreds of teas to choose from, containing different teas and different spices. Pre-made chai tea bags or loose tea is usually intended for steeping in hot water for 3-5 minutes, but you can simmer them in a saucepan too. You can drink them pure or add milk.

Ingredients:

• Pre-made chai blend, loose tea or tea bags
• Water
• Milk (optional)
• Sugar (optional)

Pros of this method: you don’t need to worry about different spice ratios or choosing the best tea base, they are easy to steep, suitable for office

Cons of this method: flavour may be weaker, especially if you only steep it in water, quality and flavour may differ.

4. Mixing instant powders with milk or water

Instant powders and latte powders are easy to use, and you can be mix them with both water or milk. They usually contain sugars and powdered milk and may be very sweet. One of the major benefit is the ease of use. There are many delicious instant  tea powders out there, but the texture and flavour will differ from the authentic chai. Many powders contain non-traditional ingredients such as vanilla or chocolate.

Ingredients:

• Instant chai powder
• Water OR milk, or both
• Sugar (optional, usually already highly sweetened)

Pros of this method: Very easy to use, often a decadent drink with no bitterness

Cons of this method: Other ingredients and potentially lots of sugar, the furthest from an authentic chai of all methods

5. Using steamed milk

Chai with steamed milk is called chai latte. It’s an alternative to regular milk tea, but with a very different texture and flavour. It’s great for making a cup of spiced tea fast, especially if you have a milk steamer and a loose tea blend or tea bags. Latte will have a better texture than regular cup of tea with milk, but it will still be less rich than the proper authentic chai – even if you start with the same ingredient ratio. Furthermore, it will have a layer of milky foam that’s not spiced.

Ingredients:

• Pre-made blends or chai concentrate
• Water
• Steamed and frothed milk
• Sugar

Pros of this method: easier to make than the authentic tea, usually made with pre-made blends

Cons of this method: texture will be less creamy and more watery than an authentic tea, requires a milk steamer or an electric hand frother

Read more: Chai tea vs Chai latte

6. Adding powdered spices to black tea

Another way of making chai tea is by adding powdered spices to steeped tea. While this may be convenient, if you don’t have any whole spices and want to make a cup of spiced tea fast, it will have downsides, too. Powders don’t really dissolve and have a less intense flavour than whole spices. This method works well when making lattes, but it may not be a great choice for making a regular cup of tea without milk or with only a splash of cold milk.

Ingredients:

• Black tea leaves or tea bag
• Powdered spices
• Steamed milk
• Sugar (optional)

Pros of this method: easier to use than whole spices, suitable for making lattes

Cons of this method: not suitable for making authentic chai or for adding to tea without milk

7. Using chai pods

The fastest and newest way of making a milky tea is by using tea pods. Just like coffee pods, tea pods will offer an ease of use and will usually already contain sugar and milk. While you can’t use chai pods to make an authentic chai, you can use them to make a delicious cup of spiced drink. Pods are easy to use, provided you have a pod coffee machine, but the price per cup may be higer than using fresh ingredients. However, it’s probably the most conventient way of enjoying spiced tea in the office.

Ingredients:

• Chai pods
• Water

Pros of this method: easy to use, great for offices

Cons of this method: cost, some may be more watery than the others

Final thoughts

The best way will ultimately depend on your preferences. If you want an authentic experience, there’s only one way to make it – by gathering all ingredients and simmering it to a perfection. But if only want to enjoy a spiced drink, there are many ways you can try. Experimenting with different methods will help you find the perfect one.

The post 7 Ways to Make Chai + Their Pros and Cons appeared first on All That Tea.

What is masala chai?

Masala chai is an Indian spiced black tea with milk. It’s made with strong black tea leaves, spices, milk, sugar and water. It can contain different ratios of water, milk and spices. No two cups of masala chai will be the same, but any cup of masala chai will have a creamy and luxurious texture and richness. That’s why to make one at home it’s not enough to simply steep some tea leaves and add spices.

Which spices are essential for making masala chai?

You can make masala chai using only one, or a dozen of different spices. The more spices don’t imply a better flavour, so if you are new to chai, start with a few of the most common ingredients.

1. Green Cardamom – Cardamom is a spice from the ginger botanical family. If you need to choose only one spice for making masala chai, cardamom is a perfect choice. It’s strong and intense and will give more spiciness to masala chai than, for example, cinnamon. It’s always best to use whole cardamom pods than the powder. Always crush them before use.
2. Cinnamon – Cinnamon is the second most important ingredient for making chai. There are many types of cinnamon, but the most popular for chai is the Ceylon cinnamon. Ceylon Cinnamon is milder than the “regular” Chinese cinnamon.
3. Cloves – Cloves are another warming and aromatic spice often used for masala chai. Cloves are a common ingredient in many western spice blends such as pumpkin pie spice or gingerbread spice mix.

You can make the most basic delicious homemade masala chai using these three spices only.

Additional ingredients for masala chai

Other ingredients you can use:

1. Black cardamom – it has a stronger, smoky aroma, and it’s not a replacement for green cardamom, but rather an additional ingredient.
2. Fennel seeds – fennel seeds add sweetness and a mild flavour.
3. Star anise – a very common ingredient in masala chai, adds sweetness and flavour.
4. Anise seed – similar to star anise, but with a sharper flavour.
5. Fenugreek – more common in dishes than in chai masala, fenugreek will give sweet and nutty flavour.
6. Black pepper – black peppercorns are a common ingredient, especially in pre-made masala chai blends.
7. Ginger – ginger is usually used fresh or dried. Fresh ginger will give a distinctive, strong flavour, so dried ginger may be a better choice if you are new to masala chai.
8. Rose petals – rose petals may add a floral note and they blend well with other spices.
9. Tulsi – Tulsi or Holy Basil is an adaptogenic herb that’s often steeped pure. It has a distinctive herbaceous flavour and may be used in masala chai blends too.
10. Vanilla – vanilla is not a traditional ingredient, but it’s sometimes added to pre-made blends. It goes well with other spices and adds sweetness to tea.
11. Chocolate chunks – Chocolate chunks are not an authentic ingredient for making chai, but they may add a very delicious chocolaty flavour that blends well with spices. If you use them, add them just before straining the tea.
12. Indian bay leaf – Although not commonly used, Indian bay leaf has a flavour more similar to cinnamon and cloves. It’s often used in Indian cuisine.
13. Chilli – small chilli pods will add a very spicy touch, so use them sparingly.
14. Cumin seeds – Cumin seeds or Jeera may add an intense, nutty flavour.
15. Nutmeg – with a warming and nutty flavour, nutmeg is a great ingredient for masala chai. Use sparingly.

What is the right ratio of spices?

There’s no proper ratio of spices to make a perfect masala chai. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when making your tea.

1. Adding not too much or not enough

The right number of spices will depend on your preferences. Adding 1-2 cardamom pods, a couple of cloves and about an inch of cinnamon stick will not make your tea too spicy. On the contrary, it will be only gently spiced. But adding a teaspoon of each spice (or any!) will overpower the flavour. Always start with only a few ingredients and build up your recipe until you get the perfect flavour.

1. Choosing fresh spices

Any spice you are adding to tea should be fresh. Fresh means that it didn’t lose its flavour or scent. While spices don’t have an actual expiry date, they will lose potency over time. Whole spices are likely to last longer than powders. Fresh spices will often be more aromatic and offer more in-depth than powders.

2. Crushing them before making the tea

Crushing spices using pestle and mortar is an essential step in making masala chai flavourful. Using one crushed cardamom pod will release much more flavour than using two uncrushed pods. Always crush spices right before using them.

Which tea is the best for making masala chai?

The best tea for making masala chai will not necessarily be the most expensive, or the highest quality tea. The best tea will be the one that infuses into a strong and bold infusion with darker red brown colour. This usually means teas with smaller broken leaves, CTC teas or tea dust. When talking about tea, the term lower quality usually implies the grade of tea leaves. This means that the tea you choose should still be enjoyable on its own, fresh and not stale, but it would probably taste better with some condiments than pure.

Test brew your tea first. If the colour is orange or orange-brown, it will likely not be the best tea for making chai.

Assam teas are perfect for making masala chai, as most of them are available as tea dust or broken leaf and are strong and bold enough. Other great options are Chinese Keemun black tea with smaller broken leaves, or Kenyan black tea.

Can I use decaf or caffeine free teas instead of regular black tea?

Yes, you can make masala chai using decaf or caffeine free teas. Assam is often widely available in decaf style with almost no difference in flavour. Red rooibos is a great alternative if you want a naturally caffeine free tea. Rooibos will never become bitter, no matter how long you steep it for. You can follow the recipe below with both decaf and caffeine-free teas.

Are there different methods to make homemade masala chai tea?

There are many methods you can use to make chai tea, but all authentic chai teas are made similarly – by simmering tea leaves and spices over a low heat and adding milk and a sweetener.

Find out what exactly is the difference between steeping and simmering tea leaves and spices here.

To make masala chai, you will need a clean small saucepan that’s easy to clean. Another great step to include is gently toasting spices over high heat before adding water. This will make them more aromatic. You will also need a kitchen strainer and a serving cup. If you want to incorporate a pulling method, pouring it from one saucepan to another will be easier than pouring the tea from one cup into another.

Which milk is the best for making masala chai?

The best milk will be whole cow’s milk with a high fat content (over 3%). It will give a nicer texture and a better mouthfeel than skimmed milk. Milk with intense flavour such as goat’s milk may not be the best choice for making masala chai. You can use a milk alternative but be careful as some milks will separate and some will thicken. Make a smaller cup of pure chai first to test out the milk.

Which sweetener should I use?

For making masala chai from a scratch, the best sweetener is regular white granulated sugar. You can replace it with different sugar, including brown or coconut sugar, or you can add a sugar alternative. However, regular sugar will not only balance the flavour, but it will also improve the texture. Keep that in mind when using a sugar alternative. If you are adding honey, it may be better to let your tea cool down first.

Need a perfect sweetener for black tea? Check out this Demerara Chai Simple Syrup recipe.

Can I make chai tea and store it in the fridge?

Yes, it’s possible to make chai tea for later, but the freshly made cup will always taste the best. Once you learn how to make it, preparation time will significantly reduce. 10 minutes will be enough to gather all the ingredients, crush them and simmer them into a perfect cup of chai. If you store it in the fridge, you can reheat it in a microwave or in a saucepan or serve chilled over ice.

Basic Homemade Masala Chai from a Scratch

To make masala chai from a scratch at home, gather all the ingredients first and gently crush the spices. Have a saucepan ready and measure the right amount of water and milk. Once you learn how to make it, you won’t need to measure the ingredients anymore, because you will recognize if your tea needs more water, milk, or sugar. Start with a few spices and add more when making it next time. It’s always good to make notes on the ingredients you used, to know what to change next time.

Don’t have enough time to make a homemade masala chai? These are 7 different ways you can make it at home.

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Simple Masala Chai from a Scratch

Basic easy recipe to make a creamy authentic masala chai

Course Drinks

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Autumn, Black Tea, Chai

Prep Time 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Equipment

• 2 small saucepans
• Kitchen sifter

Ingredients

• 2 heaped teaspoons of black tea leaves
• 2 green cardamom pods
• 2 cloves
• 1 inch of cinnamon
• 1 star anise
• 250 ml of water
• 150 ml of milk
• 2 teaspoons of sugar

Instructions

• Crush all spices using a pestle and mortar. Do not powder them, just break them into smaller pieces.
• Add spices into a small saucepan and turn on the heat to medium. Once they start releasing aroma, add water and bring it to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to medium low and add tea leaves. Let them simmer for 2-3 minutes. Both tea leaves and simmering will reduce the total water content. If the heat is higher, the water will evaporate faster.
• Add milk and sugar and bring it to a boil again over medium heat.
• Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
• Strain the tea into a clean saucepan. Now use the pulling method to aerate the tea. Pour it from one saucepan into another from a slight height several times until small bubbles form.
• Pour it into a cup and serve immediately.

The post How to Make Homemade Masala Chai appeared first on All That Tea.