Date chai
Date chai is a delicious way to sweeten chai without using sugar. Chai is a spiced tea made with cinnamon and cardamom, popular in India and across South Asia. You can enjoy chai hot or cold, perfect for warming up in the colder months or cooling down in the summer. Give our date chai recipe a try!
Ingredients
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2
Chai tea bags
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2
Pitted dates
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1 pinch
Ground cinnamon
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1
Crushed ground cardamom
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Instructions
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Recommended information
Enjoy!
Date Chai FAQs
What is date chai?
Date chai is a tea drink that’s sweetened with dates rather than regular sugar. It provides a natural sweetness, infused with vibrant flavours along from chai’s mix of spices. Simply add a couple of pitted dates either whole or chopped to the brewed tea and allow them to steep.
What is chai made of?
Chai is usually made with black tea, milk, a sweetener like sugar or fruit, and a mix of spices, often including cinnamon, cardamom, and sometimes cloves or ginger. It’s also known as masala tea.
Why is it called dirty chai?
A dirty chai is a mix of tea and coffee, typically a shot of espresso is added to a regular chai. This makes the chai darker in colour and stronger, leading to the name ‘dirty chai’.
Can I use dates to make tea?
Yes, dates make an excellent natural sweetener and produce a delightful flavour. You can add pitted or chopped dates to your tea as it’s brewing to infuse it with flavour.
Other recipes
Chai, a short history
Chai, or masala chai, gained widespread popularity during British colonial rule in India. In response to the comparatively bitter British tea that English merchants were promoting, Indian tea vendors created a more flavourful alternative using milk and spices to create chai. The British Tea Association disapproved of this because this meant less tea was being consumed in the ‘traditional’ way. However, chai outlasted the British Raj and continues to be enjoyed all over the world.
What to eat with chai
Chai is the perfect drink to enjoy with foods that are buttery and lightly spiced. Traditional Indian snacks like samosas, spiced roasted nuts, chai biscuits, or even a slice of carrot cake make ideal pairings.
A world of chai
Traditionally, chai includes cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and black pepper. However, you can easily adapt it to suit your taste. Add some mint for a fresher taste, or some lemongrass for that citrus zing. As with our date chai recipe, you can also use different ingredients for sweetening your chai, including honey or brown sugar. Make it a refreshing summer drink by pouring over ice or blending with crushed ice to make a chai slushie.
