Artificial Flavors Free Chai Spice Iced Tea
Warm spices, real black tea, and a touch of maple syrup come together in a drink that tastes like a cozy café order — only better, because you made it yourself. Bottled chai drinks and flavored tea blends are notorious for sneaking in synthetic flavor compounds, so brewing your own from whole spices is the cleanest, most satisfying workaround. A cinnamon stick, fresh ginger, crushed cardamom pods, cloves, and black peppercorns do all the heavy lifting here, filling your kitchen with an aroma that no artificial shortcut can replicate. The maple syrup adds just the right amount of sweetness without any of the mystery ingredients you'd find in a flavored syrup at a coffee shop. Steeping the tea bags separately after simmering the spices keeps the flavor balanced — bold and aromatic without turning bitter. Strained, chilled, and poured over ice, this is the kind of drink that disappears fast on a warm afternoon.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
- 3 cups water
- 3 black tea bags
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, thinly sliced
- 6 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 4 whole cloves
- ¼ tsp black peppercorns
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
For serving
- 1 cup ice cubes, for serving
Instructions
- 1
Combine the water, cinnamon stick, sliced ginger, crushed cardamom pods, whole cloves, and black peppercorns in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes, until the liquid is fragrant and lightly amber.
- 2
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the tea bags and steep for 4 minutes, then remove and discard the tea bags.
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