Green Tea And Honey Chai With Milk - A Recipe

My parents introduced me to tea drinking back in the early 1970s, in my early teens. Tea is a very popular drink in India, and they brought their love for it with them to Canada. Back then, the tea of choice was Red Rose’s Orange Pekoe. The TV commercials would end with an actor speaking in a British accent: “Only in Canada you say? Pity.”

Over time, I tried a lot of different teas, expanding to herbal and green tea. I was particularly resistant to green tea, as I found it lacking in flavour. Green tea, however, is a palate cleanser. It also has anti-oxidant properties. As I said, I resisted green tea for a very long time, even though I visited many Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants on a regular basis (1-4 times a week) over the past 20 years.

But I have been drinking green tea in the past 4 years and have actually been enjoying it. I’ve been enjoying it even more lately while stumbling across a hybrid drink form: mixing green tea with honey and milk. In India, tea is mixed with honey and milk to create a hybrid Chai. Chai has been come ultra-popular in North America in the past decade, even to the point of being mixed with fruit juice and bottled cold.

However, chai uses India tea leaves. My version substitutes such leaves with green tea. Authenticity would demand loose green tea leaves. But bagged leaves make it easier, as you will not have to strain out the leaves.

While I have always been one of those people that adds honey to tea, and sometimes a squeeze of lemon, I never expected it would work with green tea. What’s more, adding a bit of milk gives the entire drink the illusion of being a full glass of warm milk, with some mystical, refreshing undertone.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of green tea
• 1 mug of water (actually, slight less, to leave room for milk)
• Honey to taste. I usually squeeze out the equivalent of about 1 heaping tbsp of honey.
• Small squeeze of lemon or orange. [optional: I haven’t tried this yet, but I’m thinking it’ll work.]
• Milk to taste. Use milk, not cream. I usually add about an 1/8th of the volume of the mug I’m using, with the rest of the volume taken up by tea.

Preparation:

• Set water to boil. Use a bit more than the amount you’ll be drinking, to leave a bit of leeway for steam.
• Place bag in cup, with string + tab sticking out, and pour in water. Leave some room for milk. Most green tea served in restaurants is very weak. I like my teas with a bit of strength, so I steep the bag for about 3-5 minutes. But use a lid to keep the liquid hot.
• Drizzle the honey into the warm tea, and stir to dissolve.
• Add the squeeze of lemon or orange now, if using, but just a touch.
• Pour in a bit of milk and stir.

Enjoy with tea biscuits, shortbread, chinese sweet bean cakes, or deep-fried wonton shells drizzle with honey.

By the way, TAZO Teas has one of the most enjoyable tea websites I’ve come across. However, to enjoy their award-winning presentation, you have to have the Flash plugin installed on your browser. (Just try visiting their site; if you don’t have the plugin, you should get some download instructions.)

Tags: curryelvis, curry elvis, green tea, chai, drinks, teetotaller, fusion drinks