This herbal tulsi chai makes for a delightfully cozy and caffeine-free cup of spiced tea that can be enjoyed hot or iced. When you’re ready for a cup, mix it with equal parts of the milk of your choice. To keep it vegan, make sure to use a non-dairy milk like oat or cashew.
Tulsi basil is the stalwart of my home garden. Even on the hottest and longest days of summer, when everything in the garden including myself is wilting, the tulsi basil is unfazed. I love growing it for both its staying power (it easily self-sows year after year) and the unique fruity and spicy flavor of its leaves. Since tulsi thrives in summer and is often in abundance, I harvest and dry as much of it as possible for enjoyment during the cooler months.
While tulsi makes a delicious herbal tea on its own, it is especially delightful when paired with warm chai spices. I like to make a batch of this tulsi chai in order to satisfy a craving for something warm and non-caffeinated to sip on during the latter part of autumn and winter days. And, if it happens to be a hot and humid autumn day, as is incredibly common here in Houston, I’ll drink it iced. A quick little side note, the batch I photographed here was incredibly special as it was the first time I was able to use homegrown ginger in my chai!
What You’ll Need to Make This Tulsi Chai
- Whole Spices: You’ll need whole cinnamon sticks, green cardamom pods, star anise, and cloves. Along with fresh ginger, these spices create the chai blend and lend warmth and sweet spice to the tea. You’ll crush them up before adding using them in order to maximize their surface area and flavor in the resulting tea!
- Fresh Ginger Root: The spiciness of ginger is one of my favorite things about chai! You can use 1/4 cup if you’d like it less gingery, or, you can use a 1/2 cup which is my preference. I used my homegrown ginger in this batch so it felt extra special.
- Orange Peel: You’ll remove the peel from one small orange and toss it in with the spices. It lifts all of the flavors and gives the chai a mellow citrus note.
- Dried Tulsi Basil: Tulsi or Holy basil has the most delightful flavor and scent: minty, peppery, a tad fruity, and a hint of cloves. It pairs wonderfully with all of the spices and the citrus AND since it’s a variety of basil, it makes this chai caffeine-free!
Tips for Making the Best Cup of Chai
The fresher the spices the better! But honestly, I’ve made chai with some questionably old herbs and it still came out rather delicious. Don’t skip out on crushing the whole spices because it will help maximize their surface area which means you’ll achieve an overall stronger and deeper flavor in the chai. Also, make sure when you’re steeping the tea that you cover it with a lid or a plate to allow it to infuse better. As it steeps, the hot tea will release steam laced with the essential oils of the spices and herbs. By covering it as it steeps, you’re ensuring that these stay in your tea and yield a much better flavor!
Looking for More Cozy Sips for Fall and Winter?
Try this fall spice horchata or this grounding ginger lemongrass tea. Or, if you’d like a caffeinated cup of chai, try this one.
Cozy Herbal Tulsi Chai
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 1 quart 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This herbal tulsi chai makes for a delightfully cozy and caffeine-free cup of spiced tea that can be enjoyed hot or iced. When you’re ready for a cup, simply mix it with equal parts of the milk of your choice. To keep it vegan, make sure to use a non-dairy milk like oat or cashew.
Ingredients
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tbsp whole green cardamom pods
- 3 whole star anise
- 2 tsp whole cloves
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup finely chopped ginger root (depending on how spicy you want it!)
- The peel from 1 small orange
- 1/2 cup lightly packed dried tulsi basil leaves
- 5 cups of water
- sweetener of your choice as needed
- milk of your choice as needed (my favorites are oat and cashew)
Instructions
Crush the cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, and cloves until they begin to break down into smaller pieces. You can do this with a mortar and pestle or by placing the whole spices in a kitchen towel and hitting them with a rolling pin or other heavy implement.
Add your crushed spices to a large stock pot along with the ginger root and orange peel. Cover with the 5 cups water. Heat the spices and water over medium high heat. Once the water comes to a boil, allow it to boil for 2-3 minutes then remove the pot from heat. Stir in the dried tulsi, then cover the pot and allow the tea to steep for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes strain the tea. You can compost the spices if you like. What you have is concentrated so in order to enjoy it, you’ll mix the tea with equal parts of the milk of your choice. In other words, if you pour 1/2 cup of chai into your mug, you’ll mix 1/2 cup of milk with it!
You can enjoy your chai iced or hot and add your favorite sweetener as needed. Keep the leftover concentrate in a sealed bottle or container in the fridge and use it within 1-2 weeks.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: drink
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