Chai Tea

Pre-COVID, I used to commute into downtown Portland, Oregon, about three days a week to attend meetings, interact face-to-face with my colleagues (gasp!) and write reports and emails from my grey-walled cubicle, with views of the city’s skyline. For those that don’t know, I’m a scientist by day and a food blogger by night (and weekends). These days, my commute is much shorter and while I don’t necessarily miss the 1.5 hour drive to/from work, I do miss seeing my colleagues and the big city, and drinking the great coffee and chai tea that Portland has to offer. 

The stereotypes are true.  We take our coffee and tea very seriously in the Pacific Northwest. Maybe it’s the rainy, cold and dreary weather eight months out of the year, or maybe it’s our need for perfection, I’m not sure. But what I do know is that you will find some really great coffee shops in the Portland metro area.

One of my favorite coffee shops in downtown Portland is this tiny little place called Spella Caffè, located on 520 SW 5th Ave. Spella pours Italian style espresso from single-origin beans, handcrafted chai tea, and sells an assortment of other goodies. While their coffee is very good, their chai tea is absolutely amazing. In my opinion, there is no other place in Portland that does it better. Spella’s chai is the perfect combination of spices and black tea. It’s not too sweet and it is made-to-order (no pre-made stuff!). I really miss it.

So, in an attempt to re-create Spella’s chai, I’ve concocted my own recipe.  I’m really happy with the results!  It’s exotic, spicy and warm and is a nice substitute for coffee on these cold winter days.  This tea mix is easy to make ahead of time and have ready to go when you come inside from a day of playing in the snow.  It also makes for cute holiday gifts when packaged into little jars. My friends and family have enjoyed their chai tea mixes this year and I think yours will too.  Happy holidays and enjoy!

To make this chai tea mix, add 2 whole star anise, 8 black peppercorns, 4 whole allspice berries, 1 whole clove, and 2 black cardamom pods to a mortar.  With the pestle, crush the spices until they start to release their aromas.  If you do not have a mortar and pestle, add the spices to a resealable bag and crush with a rolling pin.  Next, add 1 cinnamon stick that has been snapped into a few pieces along with ½ teaspoon of ground ginger, 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 4 teaspoons of loose leaf black tea such as Asam or Darjeeling.  Mix to combine.  Store the spice mix in a sealable glass jar until you are ready to make your tea.  This spice mix recipe will produce four cups of tea.

To make the tea, add the above contents to 32 ounces of boiling water. Steep for 5-8 minutes.  Strain the tea using a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag and divide among four mugs.  Add ¼ cup of milk or milk alternative and 1 ½ tablespoons of maple syrup to each mug, if desired. Sit back, relax and enjoy!