Citrus Spiked Chai Sun Tea
This month’s Recipe ReDux is all about tea. Our members are cooking and baking and stirring up tea-inspired healthy dishes. And I really did have a great (really cool, even ice-creamy or sorbet-like) creation in mind. But time got the best of me, so you’ll just have to wait – I promise I’ll share something really creative with tea, but just not today. Today I’m sharing iced tea. I know, yawwwn.
This isn’t just any iced tea, and it certainly doesn’t come from a can. Citrus Spiked Chai Sun Tea is simple to make, and delicious to sip on a hot summer day. If you’ve never had it, Chai tea is sweet and spicy and full of antioxidants. It commonly includes spices like cardamom, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla, and ginger, which are considered “warming spices” in Chinese medicine and have lots of health benefits.
I think Chai spices complement citrus flavors just perfectly, and when served over ice, this tea transports you to a warm place (in case that’s not where you are), and keeps you nice and cool. It’s nice to have sun to make sun tea, but any bright windowsill will actually do.
If you want to try another one of my favorite iced tea recipes, check out my Sparkling Hibiscus Green Tea. It's full of antioxidants that reduce your blood pressure, and it's SUPER refreshing!
Recipe
Citrus Spiked Chai Sun Tea {Recipe ReDux}
Ingredients
- 15 Chai tea bags
- 3 quarts cold water + ½ cup water
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
Instructions
- Fill a gallon jar or clear pitcher with 3 quarts of cold water, and add tea bags (I like to tie all of the bags at the top and drop them in together).
- Sit jar or pitcher in a bright or sunny window for 1-2 hours.
- Meanwhile, cut fruit in half, and remove peel from one half of each piece. Be sure to remove any white pith from the peel. Slice unpeeled fruit halves and reserve if desired, to add to the pitcher.
- Bring the additional ½ cup of water to a boil in a medium saucepan, add sugar and citrus peel. Stir to dissolve sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Remove peel from sugar water, and let cool.
- When tea is brewed to the desired color, squeeze juice from orange, lemon and lime to the pitcher or jar, and add sliced fruit if desired.
- Refrigerate until cold.
- Citrus simple sugar can be added all at once to the pitcher, or stored in a separate container and used to sweeten each glass as desired.
- Serve over ice, and store in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Have you ever had Chai tea? Hot or cold?
Eat well!
In this step:
6. When tea is brewed to the desired color, squeeze juice from orange, lemon and lime to the pitcher or jar, and add sliced fruit if desired.
Do you mean the juice from the 1/2 of the fruit the peel was removed from? And then if desired, also add the slices from the other half?
Hi Erin, Either way is fine. Personally, I like to squeeze the juice from all of the fruit and then add slices from new, fresh fruit because it looks prettier. It really depends on how fruity you like your tea.
Thanks for visiting!