Chai Recipe

Scroll down to see the recipe, plus variations for the different doshas.

Chai Recipe

  • Black tea (good choice for kapha types, who tend to need a little stimulation to help them get up and go). Otherwise white or green tea
  • Ginger (Ginger increases the digestive fire partially by stimulating the secretion of digestive enzymes, increases the rate of gut motility, and a powerful anti-inflammatory and helps to dissolve ama
  • Cardamon (clearing effect on the mind and helps regulate the energetic flow of vata in a healthy downwards direction, helps support digestion of dairy and mitigates the vata-provoking effects of black tea)
  • Cinnamon (dispel coldness in the extremities and enkindles agni, the digestive fire)
  • Clove (clearing and purifying so beneficial for kapha dosha)
  • Black Pepper (useful for low appetite, sluggish digestion, abdominal pain, toxins. Stimulates agni and circulation, having an overall warming effect on the body

Chai for Vata

  • Ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon are particularly balancing to vata because they possess a combination of sweet and spicy tastes.
  • Don’t overdo clove and black peppercorns.
  • Less black tea given sensitive nervous systems.
  • If too much with the tea, just make it into a sweet/spiced milk.

Chai for Pitta

  • Chai is overall warming in nature, which may aggravate pitta. However, the cool, sweet nature of the milk does help reduce the heat of the tea and spices.
  • Use maple syrup instead of honey so less ‘hot’
  • Decrease the cloves and black peppercorns and to add a teaspoon of fennel seeds. Fennel is cool, sweet, and pacifying to pitta dosha.
  • Add a splash of rosewater in their mug to finish, or a pinch of saffron – these ingredients have a very calming, cooling effect on pitta dosha.

Chai for Kapha

  • Unlike vata and pitta, kaphas thrive with increased heat and stimulation. Kapha’s cool, heavy, slow nature benefits from hot spices. 
  • Use the maximum amount of all the spices in this recipe and would be fine to use the full 3 tablespoons of black tea. 
  • Kapha would also do well to use a little less milk and honey, as those ingredients are both sweet, and thus increase kapha dosha.
  • Milk, in particular, is a very kapha-increasing food so a milk alternative would be beneficial.

Variations

Add an adaptogenic herb (esp for Vata constitution) like Ashwagandha Golden milk (adding turmeric) – a whole other lecture on the benefits Substitute with chickory root vs black tea

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