Saturday, October 06, 2012

Jasmine Chai


I love jasmine tea. It is a type of tea that has been infused with the scent of jasmine blossoms. Generally, it is a green tea, although sometimes makers will use white or black tea. Teas can be scented by many fragrances, but jasmine is the most common. Jasmine tea is subtly sweet and highly fragrant. Sipping on a cup of jasmine green tea that's had a touch of sweetener added to it is like a Calgon, "take me away moment" for me! I love the subtle, gentle fragrance and flavor of jasmine tea. 

Sometimes it is fun and interesting to kick things up a notch though. I think that the taste buds tolerate a few stronger flavors during the autumn and winter months. Jasmine tea can be mixed with spices and milks to create a still delicate and soothing tea, yet one enhanced with a touch more flavor. 

Here's a recipe for Jasmine Chai that I think you'll enjoy ~

2 cups pure water
3 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp. ginger, ground
1/2 cup milk of choice*
2 tsp. jasmine tea
sweetener of choice

Bring the water to a boil. Add the cloves, cinnamon, and ginger. Cover and simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add tea. Steep for 3 - 4 minutes. Decant. Then, add milk and return to stove top, bringing mixture to a gentle simmer**. Sweeten to taste with your favorite sweetener. 

Honey or stevia are delightful in this chai.

*Coconut milk is a great choice for this recipe!

**If you are a tea purist, you won't want to reheat the tea after decanting. Instead, you can warm the milk separately and then add it to the decanted chai blend. This is my preferred method.




2 comments:

  1. My niece just loves jasmine tea. I'll have to send her a link. It's not one of my favorites. I just stick with Earl Grey, chamomile, and sometimes a rooibos tisane.

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  2. Very interesting! I wouldn't have thought of this combination.

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