I like my coffee. But, as fall approaches, there is something nice about a hot cup of tea. If you join me around my dining room table during the fall or Christmas season, I will probably offer you some Christmas Chai tea. I call it Christmas Chai because I make it at Christmas time. The flavors are perfect for the holiday season – warm, delicious cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg…. Here’s the recipe below. The amounts are estimates. (I never measure things like this. I just dump it in until it looks right.) 🙂  So grab your favorite loose leaf black tea. There’s so many flavors in this mix that the stronger the tea the better.

Christmas Chai Tea

Christmas Chai:
1 lb. Assam Black Tea
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
3 tbl. green whole cardamon pods
1/2 cup ginger root, peeled and chopped into cubes, pre-soaked in 2 tbl. vanilla, then dried
1 tsp. nutmeg
3 tbl. whole cloves
2 tbl. black peppercorns
1 tbl. fennel
1/8 cup bay leaves, small pieces
1/4 cup orange peel, chopped and dried

Dump everything in a bowl. Mix. Simmer for 5 minutes in a saucepan with 1 tsp. of tea mix to 2 cups of water. If desired, sweeten with brown sugar and a touch of milk.

Mmmm. I can smell the sweet and spicy goodness now.

Note: This tea is best simmered in a saucepan rather than steeped in a tea infuser. This allows the whole herbs (cinnamon, cardamon, etc.) time to open up and infuse into the water