CHAI

About 4 servings chilled or 6 servings hot

Ingredients:

3 cups rice milk, plain or vanilla flavoured

3 cups water

1/3 cup Sucanat or alternative sweetener of your choice

2 Tablespoons black tea leaves (try Assam or a breakfast blend)

1 two-inch or longer cinnamon stick

8 whole black peppercorns

2 whole cloves

4 cardamom seeds

1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

2 whole allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Procedure:

Mix the milk, water, sweetener, and tea leaves in a saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as the mixture boils, turn off the heat and stir in all the spices. Cover the pan and allow the tea and spices to steep for fifteen minutes. Remove the cover, stir, and heat again to a boil. Again as soon as it reaches the boil, remove from the heat. Pour the mixture through a fine strainer or sieve into a teapot or directly into individual teacups or mugs to serve. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to two days, and served chilled or reheated.

TEA STEEPED PRUNES

About 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound pitted prunes

2 Tablespoons apple concentrate or alternative sweetener of your choice

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon zest (yellow part of the rind only)

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup water

3 teabags

Procedure:

Place the prunes, sweetener, zest, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Mix in the water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the teabags. Let steep for three to five minutes. Remove the teabags and serve the prunes warm.

 Serve the prunes topped with plain, vanilla, or lemon soy yoghurt.

MOROCCAN ICED MINT TEA

About 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups, packed, fresh mint leaves (about one large bunch), divided

3 Tablespoons green tea leaves

1/4 cup sugar or alternative sweetener

8 cups boiling water

ice

Procedure:

Finely chop one cup of the mint leaves. Place the chopped mint leaves into a 3-quart teapot or heat-resistant pitcher. Add the tea leaves and sugar. Pour the boiling water over the leaves, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Set aside to steep for five minutes. Strain the infused liquid into another pitcher. (Discarded leaves can be used for garden mulch.) Stir in the whole mint leaves, then cover and refrigerate until chilled, or overnight. Place several ice cubes into tall glasses and pour the minted tea, along with a few mint leaves, over the ice. Serve immediately.

CHAI NAYA

About 2 cups

Ingredients:

2 cups good-quality Russian vodka

5 to 6 teaspoons fruit-flavoured loose-leaf black tea (try citrus blends, Earl Grey, red fruit blends, apricot, black currant, blackberry, or any other flavour you prefer, but be sure the tea is flavoured with natural flavours or pieces of fruit, not artificial flavourings)

1 or 2 clean, dry, glass bottles or jars with tight-fitting lids

Procedure:

Combine the vodka and tea leaves in the bottle or jar. Shake gently a few times, then let the mixture rest at room temperature away from direct sunlight for 24 hours. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh tea strainer into the second bottle or jar. Or strain the liquid into a dry bowl, then pour it back into the bottle or jar. Do not rinse out the bottle or jar because you don’t want to add water to the mixture — if there are a few errant tea leaves left in the bottle or jar, either remove with a dry tea towel or leave them there and don’t worry about it. Store the vodka mixture in your freezer; it should last indefinitely (unless you drink it, of course!). Serve in small glasses without adding ice.

SPICED COCOA TEAAbout 4 servingsIngredients:

1 cup strong black tea, freshly made

6 Tablespoons Sucanat® or other sweetener

4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, preferably Dutch processed

4 cups plain, unflavoured soy, rice, or almond milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Procedure:

Place the tea into a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the sugar and cocoa powder and cook, stirring until dissolved, just until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the milk, vanilla, and spices. Allow to remain in the pot just until the milk is heated through. Pour into cups and serve.

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