Herbs and spices are not only tasty, they also have many health promoting properties. The following chai masala recipe is a perfect beverage for the chilly days of autumn and winter. It has many herbs in it that are warming, immune building, and helpful for digestion. 

As I write this, I have a pot of herbal chai simmering on my stove. As the winter season sets in, I make this chai at least once a week. This recipe is great to serve to guests or to enjoy with a nice book and a warm fire. If you make more than you’ll enjoy at one sitting, you can save the rest in a mason jar and drink it throughout the week.

My chai masala recipe features the following herbs:

Ginger - pungent flavor, warming, strong digestive.

Cinnamon - sweet and mildly pungent, warming, boosts circulation, and detoxifying.

Cardamon - mildly sweet and pungent, cooling, digestive stimulant, curbs sweet cravings and relieves gas and indigestion.

Cloves - pungent, heating, stimulates digestion, remedy for colds and coughs, and antibacterial.

Coriander seeds - slightly astringent, cooling, relieves excess heat, boosts digestion, and relieves gas. 

Star Anise - pungent, heating, light, detoxifying and boosts digestion. 

Black Pepper - pungent, heating and boosts circulation.

Fennel - mildly sweet in flavor, slightly cooling, cooling digestive, and breath sweetener.

Herbal Chai Masala Recipe

4 cups water

1 inch of ginger root, sliced in thin pieces

1 stick of cinnamon

1 teaspoon cardamom seeds

½ teaspoon clove seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

3 star anise pods

½ teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

3 rooibos tea bags (you can also use black tea or decaffeinated black tea bags)

2 cups of milk of choice (dairy, soy, almond, etc.)

Sweetener of choice (honey, cane sugar, maple syrup, etc.)

**Note: If you do not have whole spices, you can substitute powdered herbs.

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Bring water to boil. Add herbs and let simmer for 25 minutes. Add tea bags. Steep for five minutes. Remove the tea bags. Add milk of choice and heat until desired temperature. Remove from heat, strain tea and serve.  

If you don’t plan to drink the chai all at once, strain the tea and save it to heat later and add milk as desired when serving. 

Makes about 6 servings.