Vegetarian Chai Spice Iced Tea
Warm spices meet a cool glass in this deeply aromatic iced tea that feels like a treat without any fuss. Black tea gets simmered with cinnamon, fresh ginger, cardamom, cloves, and black peppercorns before the whole thing is sweetened with maple syrup — no refined sugar, no artificial syrups, just real ingredients doing real work. The result is a beautifully layered drink that's spicy, slightly sweet, and incredibly refreshing poured over a tall glass of ice. Because every component here is plant-based, you never have to second-guess the ingredient list or worry about hidden animal products sneaking in. The maple syrup in particular adds a subtle earthiness that plays off the chai spices in a way that plain sugar just can't match. It's the kind of drink that looks impressive enough to serve at a gathering but is genuinely simple to pull off at home.
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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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