Masala Chai & Masala Chai Frappe

Ingredients (makes 2 cups hot or 1 cup cold):

• 1 cinnamon stick
• 8 green cardamon pods
• 5 cloves
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• about 2 + 1/2cm piece of ginger
• 2 + 1/2 cups water
• 4 black tea bags
• 1 + 1/2 to 2 + 1/2 tbs coconut syrup or maple syrup
• A little cinnamon + cardamon powder and crushed dried rose petals for decoration if liked

And:

• 2 cups almond or coconut milk for hot chai
• 1 heaped cup coconut cream ice cubes for frappe

Method:

Make coconut cream ice cubes by pouring coconut cream into ice cube trays and freezing till solid.

Put cinnamon stick, cardamon pods, cloves, pepper and ginger into a medium saucepan and crush lightly with a pestal. Add the water and bring to a boil then simmer uncovered for 15mins. Then add the teabags and continue to simmer for 5mins more (If you want to have hot chai – add the 2 cups of almond milk along with the tea bags). Take off heat and sit to steep for 5 more minutes. Strain out the teabags and spices and add the syrup, then leave to cool, or have hot. Store in the fridge until needed.

Mixture must be fully cold before making the frappe. If you want it to cool quickly, place in the freezer. Once cold, blend the mixture (should be about 1 cup) with the coconut cream ice cubes for about 1minute until well combined. Put in a glass and sprinkle with cinnamon and cardamon powder and crushed rose petals. Enjoy!