Barley Free Chai Spice Iced Tea
Warm chai spices meet a cool, refreshing glass in this iced tea that tastes like a coffeehouse treat made right in your own kitchen. Whole cinnamon, fresh ginger, crushed cardamom, cloves, and black peppercorns are simmered together until the water turns fragrant and lightly amber — the kind of depth that bottled drinks just can't replicate. Black tea bags steep right into that spiced base, soaking up every layer of flavor before maple syrup rounds everything out with a gentle, natural sweetness. Straining the brew through a fine-mesh sieve leaves you with a beautifully clear, jewel-toned tea that looks as good as it tastes. Many flavored teas and chai concentrates on store shelves sneak in grain-derived additives or malt-based ingredients, so brewing your own from whole spices and simple pantry staples is the cleanest way to go. Poured over a tall glass of ice, this is the kind of drink that makes a slow afternoon feel like a genuine occasion.
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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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