It is time to hunker down with something hot to drink here in east Tennessee.  It’s a balmy 29 degrees at 3:45pm.  I. Am. Cold.  I hate being cold–even if I am from the north.  In honor of cold weather setting in everywhere (except maybe Florida), I wanted to share my favorite tea with you.I love chai, but don’t like the caffeine.  So, when I found a red rooibos spice chai tea from the Bulk Herb Store, I fell in love.  But here’s the thing: I like kickin’ chai.  I mean spicy, full-flavored chai.  I needed to spice it up a little, so I decided to make my own.  I had nearly all the ingredients on hand and what I didn’t have I ran to our local health food store to buy.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can make it as spicy or as mild as you’d like.  Add more of a certain spice that you prefer, etc.  This is a very flexible recipe.  And my advice:  warm some milk, add honey and make it a chai latte.  Oh. Yeah.  Now we’re talking.  Oh, and make it in a large mug.  I mean, if you like a lot of chai.  We do!

Red Rooibos Spice Chai Tea

1/2 lb Red Rooibos tea

10 cinnamon sticks (made into chips using a coffee grinder)

1/4-1/2 c cardamom pods

18 bay leaves (varying sizes, chopped in coffee grinder)

1/4-1/2 c black peppercorns

1/4 -1/2c whole cloves

1/2 c dried orange peel

Mix everything together (using the amounts you desire–I guessed on mine!).  Use 1-2 T per mug (depending on how much spice you want to add to life).  Mix with warmed milk and honey–yum!!

This post is part of Whole Foods for the Holidays: a real foods progressive dinner