My Morning Ritual chai
🍁🍂Autumn morning rituals 🍂🍁
I have a favourite autumn morning ritual that I get to perform a couple of times a week, when my husband has gone off to work and my daughter is at school.
I light a candle ( currently @diptyque Feu de Bois), I set a pan of hot water on the stove and make some warming chai. The smell of cinnamon, cardamon and black pepper gently awaken the senses and wrap me in their delicious warmth. Armed with a cup of steaming hot chai, a warm coat and boots - I head into the the magic of an early morning autumn garden. The cool air feels sharp to begin with but it brings clarity and awareness, the steam from my cup swirls gently upwards in wispy clouds and into the ether. I can smell moss and woodsmoke, a sweetness from pears that have fallen from the tree. Dewy cobwebs sparkle and dance in the pale morning light. The trees are aglow with burnt orange, yellow and red. A quiet few moments spent in peaceful solitude and gratitude.
I have tinkered about with lots of chai recipes and found my own blend which I am sharing here. This is from my book “Balance Your Agni - An Essential Guide to Ayurveda”.
Feel free to increase or decrease the spices and flavours to suit your own tastes. If you have a lot if pitta you would be best to reduce the amount of ginger and skip the lack pepper.
I find just the ritual of making this warming drink a peaceful and meditative way to begin the day.
25g of peeled root ginger
10 cardamon pods lightly bashed
4 whole cloves
1/2 cinnamon stick ( 1 tsp ground cinnamon)
2 ordinary black tea bags
pinch black pepper
600ml water
400ml milk or almond milk
Brown sugar or maple syrup to taste ( never heat honey)
Place the ginger, cardamon, cloves and cinnamon in a saucepan with the water and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the tea bags, pinch of black pepper and milk. Let it simmer like this for around 5 mins.
Take off the heat and add sugar to taste ( I usually to 2 tsp)
Serve immediately. (However if you are on your own and as this makes around 4 cups, I usually reserve the rest in a thermos to enjoy warm later in the day.)
