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Homemade Chai Rooibos Concentrate

February 28, 2011 by KimiHarris 38 Comments

Thanks for stopping by! If you're interested in healthy eating check out my free gifts! and subscribe to get regular email updates. *Some links may be affiliate.*
Thanks for stopping by! If you're interested in healthy eating check out my free gifts! and subscribe to get regular email updates. *Some links may be affiliate.*


I love chai. I love it’s soothing spicy sweetness, especially on a cold day. We have had a cold spell recently, including snow in all of it’s fluffy beauty. Chai tea seemed the drink for the moment. But the concentrates you buy at the store can be a bit spendy a well as plump with sugar. I decided to try my hand at making my own concentrate. I played around with a few recipes and came up with this version. I used one of my favorite teas, rooibos. I’ve made it both spicy and sweet, I will explain below how to accomplish both. I also found that I love it with a lot of vanilla. Yum!

This is cost effective if you are near a store where you can buy these spices in bulk. I get mine from a local store chain, New Seasons Market. Whole Foods may have all of these spices as well.

And if you want a less traditional chai, check out my recipe for Chai Hot Cocoa. Another scrumptious treat.

Homemade Chai Rooibos Concentrate

    6 cinnamon sticks
    15 cloves
    15 allspice berries
    5 cardamon pods
    15 black peppercorns
    1/4 teaspoon of dried ginger (more to make it spicy. You can also use fresh ginger. For a spicy version-my husband’s favorite-cut 1 inch of plump ginger into slices )
    6 tablespoons of rooibos
    1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

To serve: Sweetener of choice such as stevia, rapadura, honey and whole milk or nondairy milk of choice (such as coconut milk). To make it a sweet chai, sweeten more.

1) Crack the spices (excluding the cinnamon sticks and ginger). I used my mortar and pestle. Add to a medium pot with the cinnamon sticks and ginger and add 6 cups of filtered water. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to maintain a low simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes. Strain. Add the vanilla extract. This concentrate will keep up to 10 days in the refrigerator.

2) To serve, combine and heat with milk of choice in a 1 to 1 ratio (per serving, I generally use 3/4 cup of concentrate to 3/4 cup of milk) and sweetener of choice.

Enjoy!

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KimiHarris

I love beautiful and simple food that is nourishing to the body and the soul. I wrote Fresh: Nourishing Salads for All Seasons and Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons as another outlet of sharing this love of mine. I also love sharing practical tips on how to make a real food diet work on a real life budget. Find me online elsewhere by clicking on the icons below!

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Filed Under: Beverages, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Heidi

    February 28, 2011 at 12:14 pm

    Chai is my favorite spice combo ever! This looks so comforting on a cold snowy day like today 🙂

    Reply
  2. City Share

    February 28, 2011 at 12:54 pm

    Wow, this sounds great. I have never made my own Chai. I love that this is with rooibos too.

    Reply
  3. Sarah Yoshi

    February 28, 2011 at 12:54 pm

    This sounds delicious – my sister-in-law just started cleaning up her diet with the Body Ecology Diet & I’ve been linking her your recipes like crazy! Thank you so much.

    Also, love New Seasons. I work right by one and wind up going to it on the way home from work 3-4 times a week.

    Reply
  4. Jaime

    February 28, 2011 at 1:02 pm

    Oh, Kimi, thanks for this! We make chai very similar to this, but without the rooibos (this is the first I’ve heard of it) and without the ginger or vanilla. I think I’ll add in some vanilla at the very least next time we make it! Yum!

    Also, I know this is off-topic, but if I remember correctly you’d asked about grain mill suggestions awhile back, in a previous post. I finally got around to sharing about mine, and thought I’d pass the link along to you,in case you are still looking: http://likeabubblingbrook.com/2011/02/komo-fidibus-classic-grain-mill-review/

    Warm smiles ~

    Jaime @ Like a Bubbling Brook

    Reply
    • KimiHarris

      February 28, 2011 at 1:33 pm

      Thanks Jamie! I still haven’t gotten my grain mill. i will check out your review. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Sarah

    February 28, 2011 at 4:06 pm

    Traditional Chai recipe:
    Pakistani Chai

    Fill a medium size pot with half milk and half water;
    add:
    1 to 2 tablespoons of whole green cardomon pods (lightly crushed)
    3 to 8 cloves (can overpower the cardomon)
    1 half cinnamon stick
    1 to 2 inches fresh ginger root (thinly sliced)
    10 whole black pepper corns
    Adjust to taste seasoning to
    Bring to a boil turn to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Watch carefully.
    This improves after sitting over night. Keeps well without refrigeration (except in very hot weather) if you reheat it every morning.
    I have a dedicated kettle for chai.
    A good way to quit drinking coffee as it is warming and stimulating.

    Sarah

    Reply
    • Ashley Barrett

      February 28, 2011 at 4:34 pm

      So traditional chai doesn’t have any tea?

      Reply
    • KimiHarris

      February 28, 2011 at 5:37 pm

      Thanks for sharing Sarah! I will definitely try your recipe out. 🙂

      Reply
    • Sarah

      March 3, 2011 at 4:24 pm

      And of course, I forgot the tea, You can add as much or little as you wish of mixed teas. I use green tea and a small amount of black in mine.
      I add honey if I want it in the cup.

      Reply
  6. Sara

    February 28, 2011 at 6:31 pm

    How funny you would post this today – I just discovered Rooibos Chai at the store & got a little, & yes, it was spendy. I’m excited to try this on my own.

    Reply
  7. Laura

    February 28, 2011 at 6:36 pm

    oh wow – this sounds good. I’ve got to try this. Thanks!!

    Reply
  8. Trudy

    February 28, 2011 at 7:06 pm

    I want to comment that you can more than likely use the spices for a second or third batch. Love chai! Bookmarking this for future reference.

    Reply
    • KimiHarris

      February 28, 2011 at 7:46 pm

      Great idea! Would make this even more cost effective. 🙂

      Reply
  9. Shari

    February 28, 2011 at 7:49 pm

    So, are pepper berries different from peppercorns?

    Reply
    • Sarah

      March 3, 2011 at 4:25 pm

      peper corns are what you grind for black pepper, not sure about pepper berries.

      Reply
      • KimiHarris

        March 3, 2011 at 5:18 pm

        What? You haven’t heard of pepper berries? Just kidding, that was a typo. 🙂 It’s changed now to “peppercorns”. 🙂

        Reply
  10. Joli

    February 28, 2011 at 8:22 pm

    I LOVE chai. Can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing it.

    Reply
  11. LGoin

    February 28, 2011 at 8:30 pm

    Frontier has a lot of those spices in bulk as well if you can get in on a local coop it’s super cheap with free shipping! And they have the loose tea in bulk also.

    Reply
  12. Tracee

    March 1, 2011 at 6:09 am

    Great post! I just recently discovered Chai and I can wait to make my own. Thanks!!

    Reply
  13. Lisa @ Happy in Dole Valley

    March 1, 2011 at 6:55 am

    This chai sounds delicious, can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing! Blessings, Lisa 🙂

    Reply
  14. Angela

    March 1, 2011 at 9:49 am

    Hi:

    Thanks for this great recipe…I have been enjoying chai organic tea by Tazo teas but am somewhat sensitive to the caffeine in the black tea that theirs contains. Do you know if your rooibos tea recipe has caffeine in it? I am still nursing a toddler so I am trying hard to limit or cut out caffeine but I still would love to enjoy a cup of chai every now & then. Thank you!!

    Reply
    • KimiHarris

      March 1, 2011 at 11:10 am

      It doesn’t! That’s one reason I love it so much. The second reason is because it’s very high in antioxidants. 🙂

      Reply
  15. Angela

    March 1, 2011 at 8:22 pm

    Yay, great news. Thank you. Now off to get the ingredients! 🙂

    Reply
  16. Vinay Chand

    March 1, 2011 at 9:27 pm

    We tried Chai Rooibos but it is no longer distributed here. However, Waitrose has its own brand with vanilla and that suits very well. In India, of course, there are an infinite range of spice mixes you can use. Like Garam Masala, it depends on individual taste.

    Reply
  17. Vinay Chand

    March 1, 2011 at 9:28 pm

    We tried Chai Rooibos but it is no longer distributed here in London. However, Waitrose has its own brand with vanilla and that suits very well. In India, of course, there are an infinite range of spice mixes you can use. Like Garam Masala, it depends on individual taste.

    Reply
  18. Meagan

    March 2, 2011 at 9:11 am

    This is wonderful! I love chai and have been missing it since being pregnant because of the black tea. I didn’t have any Rooibos so I used Honeybush tea, which is very similar and found it also has pregnancy and lactation benefits! Who knew?! Delicious recipe, thank you!

    Reply
    • KimiHarris

      March 2, 2011 at 10:44 pm

      I didn’t know that either! I will have to read up about it. Thanks for the tip. Was it good with the honeybush?

      Reply
      • Meagan

        March 5, 2011 at 10:37 am

        Very good. Honey bush tea has a slight sweet taste to it naturally and I bet you might be able to do without a sweetener. Of course I still add honey, but it’s definitely worth a try.

        Reply
  19. Brandon

    March 2, 2011 at 7:48 pm

    This is quite coincidental as I made homemade chai tea this morning, lightened with almond milk. No sweetener necessary for this amazing, anti-oxidant rich drink! 🙂

    Reply
  20. Sharon Foutch

    March 2, 2011 at 10:40 pm

    It all sounds so good! I’m going to try making my own as well. Thank you all for the recipes and tips.

    Reply
  21. amy@BreadandCircuses

    March 11, 2011 at 10:17 am

    My partner is from East Africa where chai is quite common. We make chai most days, but simply stew the herbs in a pot with tea, etc. We change the spices daily according to our mood or what we have, so having a ready mix does not appeal to us. The herbs and spices can also be used medicinally as they all have particular affects on the body.

    Reply
    • KimiHarris

      March 11, 2011 at 10:29 am

      Hi Amy,

      I would love to hear some of the spice combinations that you use. 🙂

      Reply
  22. Kristina

    March 18, 2011 at 5:14 pm

    I was so excited when I came across the recipe–loved your chocolate chai one too. I worried if I would be able to find all the whole spices at a good price. In the ethnic food aisle at the grocery store I was able to find all spice and cloves and peppercorns very reasonably priced, in small packets, but I couldn’t find cardamom pods anywhere around town. I splurged on a bottle of ground (quite pricey!) and made it with tea bags and it was delicious. Then yesterday I stumbled across cardamom pods at half price at a store I hadn’t been to. Anyway, I think the pods have a milder flavor than the pinch of ground. This is a go to recipe for me now. Thanks!I love that it’s full of antioxidants and beneficial spices, and it tastes great. Plus I can control the sugar content.(btw, you never stated when to add the tea, so I added it at the end and brewed for 5 min.)

    Reply
  23. RH

    October 6, 2011 at 7:33 am

    I let the tea steep with the spices for the full 15 minutes since the recipe doesn’t specify when to add it. I haven’t tasted it yet, but hope that doesn’t make it bitter. Was also wondering if you ever reuse the spices/tea to make a second batch?

    Reply
  24. Peggy

    April 28, 2012 at 8:39 pm

    I just made this chair and it’s really yummy! I just happened to have all the ingredients at my kitchen cupboards, previously purchased in bulk at New Season Market. I really like the it has Rooibos in it, so I can drink even in the evening. Thanks!!

    Reply
  25. Peggy

    April 28, 2012 at 8:41 pm

    That would be chai!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Rich and Creamy Homemade Almond Milk says:
    September 20, 2011 at 10:03 am

    […] for cow’s milk. You can drizzle some into your cup of Cinnamon Rooibos Tea, use with Chai Rooibos Concentrate, or even make hot chocolate with it! It’s also good drunk straight with some cookies or […]

    Reply
  2. Handmade Christmas Gift Carnival says:
    December 2, 2011 at 9:56 am

    […] I took my Chai Roobios Concentrate recipe, and bought the spices in the bulk section of my local health food store, and ordered a large bag […]

    Reply

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The information you find here at The Nourishing Gourmet is meant to help you become a better cook! This site is primarily for sharing family friendly recipes. It's not meant to give medical advice or to make any health claims on the prevention or curing of diseases.This site is only for informational and educational purposes. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding in supplements or making any changes in your diet. Also, any links to sponsors or affiliates (including Amazon) may give me a percentage of the sale or a pay per click. Thank you for supporting this site.

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