Chai is a delicious blend of spices traditionally served sweet and creamy with black tea. Using fresh, whole spices launches the flavor into a divine stratosphere. Though green tea does have some caffeine, it is an excellent source of antioxidants and naturally occurring fluoride. Fresh almonds make a positively delicious milk. For a quick fix if soaked almonds are not on hand, just use raw almond butter and blend. Using both maple syrup and agave or honey works well to open the sweetness nicely, and I find I use less when using both. Blend with ice to make a frozen frappe (may need to add a touch more sweetness as the ice will dilute the flavor), or warm gently on a cool fall day.

Yields: 2-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

2 green tea bags
2 cups hot filtered water
1 cup raw almonds, soaked 8 hours in filtered water, drained and rinsed
or 3-4 tablespoons raw almond butter
2 cups filtered water
1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons chopped ginger
1-2 3-inch cinnamon sticks, broken
or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
whole nutmeg, roughly cut
or teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 whole cloves
or 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of sea salt and a bit of fresh ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons maples syrup
2-3 tablespoons agave nectar or raw honey

PROCEDURE:

Steep green tea bags in hot water for 3-5 minutes. Remove and squeeze out teabags to extract as much liquid as possible. Cool tea in the fridge or freezer unless you intend to warm.
In a blender, add cooled tea, drained almonds or almond butter, ginger, spices, maple, and agave or honey and blend all until super-smooth. Start with less sweetener and add more as you please.
Pour through a strainer or sieve to separate pulp. Press with the back of a large spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. If you are using almond butter, it is not necessary to strain.
Return to blender and blend with ice for a frosty frappe, or warm over low heat to warm the spirit.

SERVICE

serve chilled, at room temperature or gently warmed.

LEFTOVER STORAGE

Store in a tightly sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 days.