Vanilla rose chai tea
I love brewing this chai, partly because it makes the kitchen smell amazing and partly because it’s such a lovely thing to share for morning or afternoon tea, but mostly because it makes a nice change from regular coffee and tea.
Ingredients
- 5 cinnamon sticks
- ¼ cup 20 g allspice berries
- ¼ cup 15 g cardamom pods
- 1 Tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 Tbsp cloves
- 1 Tbsp black peppercorns
- 4 star anise
- ¼ cup 20 g good-quality loose-leaf black tea
- 4 cm 1½ inch piece ginger, roughly chopped
- Milk to serve
VANILLA ROSE SYRUP
- 1 cup 220 g white (granulated) sugar
- 1 Tbsp rosewater
- 1 vanilla bean split lengthways
Instructions
- To make the vanilla rose syrup, combine the sugar, rosewater and 1 cup (250 ml) water in a saucepan.
- Scrape the vanilla seeds into the pan and add the scraped pod.
- Cook over medium–high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.
- Set aside to cool, then strain the syrup into a jar and store in the fridge.
- Mix the dried spices together and place them in a large dry saucepan.
- Toast over medium heat for a few minutes or until just beginning to pop and smell lovely.
- Pour in 8 cups (2 litres) water and bring to a simmer, then leave the mixture to bubble away for about 20 minutes or until reduced by half.
- Remove from the heat, add the tea and ginger and steep for 5 minutes.
- Strain the chai, discarding the spices and tea leaves, and pour it into a jug to store in the fridge.
- To serve, heat the chai with equal parts milk and chai until steaming, then sweeten with the vanilla rose syrup, to taste.
- If I’m making this for a thermos, I have the chai nice and hot, then I add the vanilla rose syrup, to taste.
- I reheat the chai and add milk, to taste, then pour the whole hot concoction into a thermos.
Notes & Wine Advice
Store the syrup in the fridge for up to a couple of weeks.
The chai will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
The chai will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.