Mike's Rooibos Chai Recipe

Been having much more tea of late, including a little black tea and red Rooibos tea from South Africa. I especially enjoy Rooibos, because it tastes so good and is quite healthy for me, since I have a tendency toward kidney stones (related to tannins).

I actually love British style black tea, milk and sugar, but just can't have a whole lot of it, due to the tannins. Rooibos has freed me a bit from worry, since it's tannin and caffeine free and has many other health benefits.

Anyway, about a week ago, I decided to try a chai-like version of Rooibos after hearing about Rooibus being blended with chai-like spices.

Being inspired, I throw Rooibos and my favorite spices (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, allspice) into a cone-style tea infuser, and put a teaspoon of honey in the bottom of the mug. Then, I pour boiling water over the tea and spices, steep for 4-5 minutes, remove and stir.

Wow! This is wonderful stuff. Easy drinking and smooth, it's a little exotic, and very chai-like. Now I need to pick up some cardamom and throw in a little black pepper for full effect.

My espresso maker's frother might have to get some use, if I try to create a Rooibos Chai Latté. Hmmm, I'm getting thirsty! :-)

Food & Wine also has a Rooibus Chai recipe that's more complex than mine, in case you're curious.

Have a great weekend!

Update 2004-04-02: FYI, I bought my organic Rooibos from Rishi Tea, through a local coffee shop. I think Rishi also does online ordering.

Comments

[Bryan Nystrom]

Mike,

Where are you getting your Rooibos from? Tea Time? I see in the recipe you pointed to the author makes mention of it being available on more store shelves so I thought I might look around for it this weekend.

Bry