Immune-boosting homemade chai

Ginger & Turmeric Rhizomes

By Cat, November 2016 (image, right, from Lisa’s Project Vegan blog (3)

For a caffeinated beverage, I far prefer a good espresso or latte to chai, mainly because I’m not much of a black tea drinker. But when it comes to warming medicinal beverages, this caffeine-free chai is perfect. Especially in fall/winter and early spring when colds and flu are rampant. It is an immune-boosting, warming and preventative beverage made without tea. It is related to Golden Milk but doesn’t include turmeric (you could add that if you wish).

See also: 1. Golden Milk recipe; 2. Healing Herbs, Oils and Remedies Menu; 3. Beverages Menu

Immune-boosting homemade chai

The original inspiration for this beverage is from a Winter Wellness Recipes file from Learning Herbs, by Rosalee de la Forét (1). But I prefer to change a few of the ingredients in her recipe since they are hard to come by where I live in rural Montana. So I’ve based my version on an Epicurious Homemade Chai recipe (2), without the black tea and adding additional immune-enhancing herbs from Rosalee’s recipe. I’m not sure how many servings this makes but likely 4 – 6.

I recommend sweetening with raw local honey to maximize the immune-boosting qualities of this beverage, especially if you have environmental allergies.

For more about astragalus root, and a great image of this herb, see Wellness Mama (4).

If you want to use fresh ginger root, peel then grate it or slice it thinly. All dried spices should be ‘fresh’ (not past their sell-by date) for maximum flavor and healthfulness.

To make your own dried ingredients:

• orange peel, see the Kitchn Blog (6)
• ginger root, see Livestrong or LeafTV (7),or my post: Herbs & Spices, G – Z under ‘ginger’ for my testing. I note that my dried ginger root is difficult to measure because it is so stringy (if it is sliced thinly lengthwise before drying). Better to slice it crosswise with sharp knife to avoid stringiness)

I dried 1.3 oz ginger before peeling; 1.1 oz ginger after peeling); it was 0.1 oz (5 g) after drying and is a scant 2 Tbsp when crushed a bit to fit in the measuring spoon. Fresh to dried ratio: 11:1 (comparing unpeeled fresh) with dried.

Ingredients & Equipment

• Chai
• 2 Tbsp or 3 – 6 g dried ginger root (about 1.3 oz fresh ginger with peel before drying); or 1/2 – 1 tsp powdered ginger. Using peeled fresh ginger may be better option.
• 2 Tbsp chopped and dried orange peel, or 0.4 oz (see (6) for drying instructions)
• 2 fresh cinnamon sticks
• 1 – 2 tsp black peppercorns
• 3 -4 whole cloves
• 6 or more  crushed green cardamom pods (papery covering and tiny seeds)
• 10 – 20 grams dried astragalus root (0.35 – 0.70 ounces at sea level); see Wellness Mama (4) for more about astragalus root
• 6 – 9 grams dried reishi mushrooms (0.2 – 0.3 ounces at sea level)
• 1 ½ quarts (6 cups) filtered water
• Optional herbs/spices (5):
• coriander seed
• star anise
• fennel seeds.
• To serve:
• fresh milk (or cashew, almond, or coconut milk)
• raw local honey
• Equipment
• 3-quart saucepan OR crockpot
• mesh strainer
• small saucepan

Method

1. Place all Chai ingredients including water  in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour. OR place all in crockpot; set heat to low and cook overnight.
2. Strain. Store in glass jars in the refrigerator.
3. Serve: Heat a shy cup of the chai liquid with some milk and honey to taste in small saucepan, just to warming temperature, about 145°F. Remove from heat and pour into a cup. Garnish with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon if desired.