Chai tea has a wonderful, warming flavour. It is super cost-effective to take your own loose leaf tea, herbs and spices, and condense into your own syrup. Then simply add milk and sit back!
⅔cupfresh chopped ginger OR I use ⅓ c “tea cut” dried ginger
1teaspoonsalt
2 ½cupssugarcan use honey or maple syrup
½cuploose leaf black tea OR rooibos to make it caffeine-free*
Instructions
Stovetop:
Bring water to a boil, and add the cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, cardamom, ginger, and salt. Turn it down to a simmer and let it simmer for an hour.
Add sugar and simmer for a few minutes so it is well combined.
Turn off the heat. Add your loose leaf tea and let sit for 5 minutes.
Strain out all your tea and herbs.
Instant Pot:
Add water, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, cardamom, ginger, and salt into the Instant Pot.
Put the lid on, set knob to sealing, and set to 5 minutes pressure cook.
After it's done, let it naturally release for approximately 30 minutes, then flip the knob to venting.
It should still be simmering some; if not, turn on to saute, add the sugar, and stir to well combine.
Add the loose leaf tea and let sit for 5 minutes, then strain out all your tea and herbs.
To use:
Depending on how strong you want it, you will use 1 part Chai Syrup to 3 or 4 parts milk of your choice. Heat them both til they’re your desired temp, froth it if you’ve got a nifty little frother, and enjoy!
I usually add a hefty splash of chai syrup into a mug, top it up with whole raw milk, then pour it into a small pot and heat over medium heat until it's steaming.
To can:
Please note these are not official canning instructions but rough notes for you to follow.
Wash and sterilize your jars. Soak your new lids in hot water.
Fill your hot jars with hot syrup, wipe the rims, put on lids and rings. Process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes,
Remove from the canner, let sit 24 hours in one draft-free place.
Remove rings, check seals, label, and put away in the cupboard!
To freeze:
I prefer to freeze liquids in yogurt containers or “32 oz reditainers” I buy off of Amazon. Simply let it cool, fill containers, label, and freeze.
To freeze in a jar, pick straight-sided jars such as wide mouth pints, wide mouth pint and a halfs or wide mouth quarts. Fill jars with the cooled syrup, leaving 2 inches of headspace. Label and chill in the fridge for 24 hrs before moving to the freezer.
Notes
*My best guess is this is 12-24 tea bags, depending on if your tea bags average a teaspoon of tea or much more. Loose leaf tea is very cost-effective to buy and I highly recommend it.