I recently learned about a special drink called dirty chai. One of my friends had posted about it on social media and I was curious because I’m a new mom and caffeine is mandatory now for me to be a well functioning human being.
Dirty chai is basically masala chai with a shot of espresso, giving you an extra caffeinated boost. This sounds like it’s right up my ally.
My baby is currently one month old and hates to sleep at night and enjoys napping all day. Her circadian rhythm hasn’t exactly kicked in yet and I’m turning into a walking zombie.
I’m not exactly a coffee person, but like any good Indian, I drink chai pretty regularly. Growing up chai was the warm drink of choice. Chai and toast, chai and cookies, chai and everything.
We had it at least two to three times a day, giving me lots of chances to ingrain the family chai-making method into my brain. I like my chai to be on the sweet side with lots of cardamom and cinnamon flavors.
Sometimes I even use 50/50 of black and green tea. In this recipe I used black tea, but it’s your choice!
This iced dirty chai is exactly what my sleep-deprived mom brain needed. The warming spices made me feel all nice and happy, and the extra shot of caffeine from the espresso wake me right up!
Video Recipe of Iced Dirty Chai
You can make double the recipe and refrigerate it for up to a week. Just add milk and ice when you’re ready for some of that sweet, sweet liquid energy. Who needs Starbucks anyway?
- 2 cups water
- 2 tea bags (black tea)
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 1 whole star anise
- 2 whole cloves
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch nutmeg
- pinch ground ginger
- sugar to taste
- In a small saucepan, add water, tea bags, espresso powder, star anise, cloves, ground cardamom, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and sugar to taste. Stir well and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Strain and pour about 1 cup of dirty chai over a mug full of ice, leaving room for milk. Pour in milk and stir.