Recipe: The Standard Chai

Working with Kaylee at Iconic Cocktail has forever been one of my favorite parts of my job. When I fell in love with a super-spicy chai latte I had in Chicago, I came home and pitched her the idea of creating a chai concentrate recipe using Iconic's mixers. And in turn, I pitched myself the idea of making a Spiced Chai scented candle, which you can now find in the Candle Builder!

After a lot of trial and error, we came up with this super delicious version of a spicy chai tea concentrate that you can keep in the fridge for whenever the mood strikes. I love it for a few reasons:

• It's so flavorful and spicy! A lot of my own attempts at a spicy chai were just lacking in flavor. This one comes at ya with a little punch and I love it.
• The Iconic Spiced Honey Mixer adds more flavor, plus a little bit of natural sweetness. 
• This recipe is low-waste! We used bulk tea and spices, reusable cheesecloth, and an empty candle jar to store ingredients in.

Let's dive in:

4 cups of water 
3 Anise pods 
6 Cardamom pods 
7 Whole Allspice Berries 
2 Cinnamon Sticks 
2oz fresh ginger 
2oz of black tea 
4oz Iconic Spiced Honey

1. Gently crush the spices in a spice grinder, mortar and pestle, or just the back of a spoon in a bowl. 
2. In a small pot over medium heat, toast the spices until fragrant (about 3-5 minutes, be careful not to burn!) 
3. Add water and fresh ginger to the pot. Bring to a gentle boil for about 3-5 minutes
4. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour to extract as much spice as possible
5. Pull from heat and add tea and steep for about 10 minutes. The liquid should reduce by half throughout the process 
6. Remove tea and add 4oz of Spiced Honey 
7. Transfer into your choice of bottle or container (we love a recycled Iconic bottle) 

• Hot Chai Latte: Heat 4oz of water and add 4oz of Standard Chai, add a splash of dairy or dairy alternative 
• Iced Chai Latte: Serve over ice with 4oz of water and 4oz of Standard Chai, add a splash of dairy or dairy alternative 
• Chai Toddy: Add 2oz Whiskey, 1oz of Standard Chai, and 2oz hot water 

• Reduce waste by buying your tea in bulk! We love going to Loose Leaf Tea Market, our local tea shop. You can also find bulk teas at Whole Foods or Sprouts. 
• Use (and reuse) cheesecloth for steeping large amounts of tea. 
• After your candle burns down, use the vessel to store spices
• Recycle Iconic bottles for this and future batched concentrates