On a cold winters night this December, what better warm drink to sip on under those blankets than chi tea? Of course hot chocolate is soothing and a very nice option to drink on a cold December night but that’s too original. Why not change things up and try something new and as delicious.
I thought chi tea was the perfect recipe to share for this occasion because not only are cold and chilly nights coming, but also since chi tea is a nice warm drink that I have to thank my ethnicity for since chi tea is a drink very well known and drank in Pakistan. And yes to all who didn’t know I am Pakistani.
Besides it’s cultural background, what’s really different about this tea is the way it’s made. Most people just heat up water and let a tea bag sit in there but not this tea. This tea requires a bit more patience and some other ingredients.
Making chi is also really easy and doesn’t take too long to make. Without further a do, here’s how chi is made.
Yields 4-5 cups of tea
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of water
- 3 1/2 cups regular or 2% milk
- 3 tablespoons Orange pekoe black tea granules
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. In a saucepan over a stove, add water and let sit on low heat for a minute
2. Next, add milk into sauce pan of water and change the heat to high
3. Add black tea granules along with sugar and using a spoon or whatever you feel like, mix everything together
4. After mixing, your tea should look somewhat like cookies n cream (milk with the granules makes it look like cookies n cream) Let the sauce pan sit on high heat.
5. After 3 minutes or so, you should notice that the sides of the pan with the milk have begin bubble or condense. This is a sign the tea is almost ready. Once the tea begins to bubble a lot of rise almost out of the sauce pan, turn off the stove and stir with a spoon.
6. Once stirred, add the 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon into the brewed chi.
7. Stir again and you chi should look as the second picture below; a eye catching copper like color
8. This next part might sound a bit different or weird but it’s extremely necessary as this step will ensure no tea granules come into your mouth while you drink, trust me its nasty when granules get in your mouth while drinking! Using a small mini sifter, hold the small sifter over your cup as you pour in the chi into cup. As the third picture shows, all the granules are caught and separated from the drink by the sifter.
You tea is ready, divide into 4 or 5 five cups and enjoy; best drank hot, don’t let it cool or else you’ll miss out the taste!
Summary:
This tea is not too sweet but very tasty and a comfort drink right for any occasion such as for cold weather, guest, gives energy to keep you up, or right for just drinking for tea time and dining.
I really hope everybody tries this kind of tea since it differs from other kinds of tea such as green tea, herbal tea, oolong, or just a simple teabag. It’s always great to try something new or learn about a different culture past time drink such as chi, so give it try 🙂 It’s easy , delicious, and very well known in Pakistan but also drank in any other country with a sense for tea.
For anyone that is curious, I used red label orange black pekoe tea granules so, any brand of orange black pekoe tea is alright but I highly recommend red label tea as they are a long going and well reputed brand.
Thanks for reading and best of tea making luck to everyone. New post on kitchen-aid professional 5 plus stand mixer coming out on Tuesday, and on Thursday I will be releasing a new and amazing recipe teaching how to make my very own homemade recipe for cinnamon apple bread pudding.
– Author/Chef Zubair M.
Baked to the Bone 