Almond milk Chai recipe

For years, I had a very routine “breakfast” that I would pick up on my way to work: a double tall soy latte at 110 degrees. (I know, I was one of those coffee-orderers). These days, I’ve swapped my beverage breakfast for a real one, my expensive coffee for tea, and my soy milk for almond milk.

Although I now work from home, I still love to get a quick start in the morning. Which is why I’m so excited about this recipe – this latte is SO simple and is made up of ingredients from my spice drawer which makes me wonder how I ever got into the $5-a-day coffee habit to begin with.

If you’ve read this blog for long, you know that Almond Breeze is my go-to almond milk. (We’ve been drinking it for years, long before we were taking pictures of it). This year we’re partnering with them on a series of “Grab & Go” posts. I know so many of you are always looking for recipes to take to work so each month we’re going to feature a simple no-fuss recipe for those of you on the, well, go.

Obviously, you could just buy chai tea in a package, but I think there’s a special flavor that comes from using the whole spices. Plus, this way you can customize your beverage to use your favorites. I used a mix of cinnamon, star anise, cardamom and a knob of fresh ginger. (All spices that are somewhat large because I didn’t want to have to strain it). Let it steep with a plain black tea packet, steaming hot almond milk and there you have it – a simple yet sort of fancy desk drink.

Almond Milk Chai Latte

Author: Jeanine Donofrio

Recipe type: beverage

• 1 black tea bag
• 2 whole star anise pods
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 4 dried cardamom pods
• optional: ½ inch knob of fresh ginger
• optional: sweetener (maple, honey, stevia, etc) to taste

1. Place 1 black tea bag and a few whole spices into a mug.
2. In a separate mug, heat the almond milk in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. Pour steaming almond milk into spiced-tea mug and steep for 5 minutes.
3. Remove the tea bag and let the spices steep for 5 more minutes. (The longer they steep, the more flavorful your drink will be). Taste and add sweetener if you like. Scoop out the spices (or just drink around them).

note: whole peppercorns are a nice addition, if you’re steeping and straining your tea. If you don’t want to strain anything, skip em.