I was gifted a yummy chai elixir some time ago and the kids have been begging me to buy some more. The health food store has it, so I checked it out. Not only was it expensive, its first ingredient was sugar. I thought …. surely I could make this at home!
I have been playing around with this for a few weeks now, testing different combinations and I have come up with one I really like. I had to add chocolate! I think it makes a great gift idea. It’s very quick and easy to make and economical.
Save your pretty glass bottles and jazz them up with some tags and ribbon. This bottle is a maple syrup one and they looks so funky!
Homemade Chocolate Chai Syrup
Makes: 2 cups Vital Stats: gluten free, grain free, egg free, nut free, refined sugar free, vegan
Okay, so this is what you need:
4 cups filtered water
1 cup Crio Bru ground cacao beans (any flavour but I used Vega Real)
2 organic cinnamon sticks
6 organic cardamom pods
2 vanilla beans (opened and scraped)
1 teaspoon finely grated nutmeg (use whole nutmeg)
1/2 to 3/4 cup organic coconut sugar or rapadura sugar
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≈Hot Tips≈
purchase the spices at an asian grocer for a great price
you can also use honey or maple syrup as your sweetener
try adding fresh ginger or orange rind for different taste
go hard-core and also add some organic tea leaves[/box]
Okay, so this is how you do it:
Put all the spices in a saucepan and lightly bruise with a wooden spoon.
Add the Crio Bru, water and coconut sugar.
Bring to the boil and then put the heat down low.
Simmer for 30-40 minutes.
While that’s happening, sterilize your bottles in some boiling water or in the oven.
Test the mix for sweetness and adjust.
Cool down and strain (I use a nut milk bag to get it nice and clear).
Use a funnel to fill your bottles.
Store in the fridge.
How to use:
Add to a nice cold glass of milk or nut milk – about 1/3 concentrate to 2/3 milk, depending on how strong you like it.
Use it to flavour ice cream. If you have a thermomix, freeze some coconut cream in iceblock trays and use it to make a sorbet with a generous dash of the concentrate.
Add some hot water and a splash of milk to make a hot drink.
Use it in your baking to add instant flavour.
Use it in my Crio Bru Chocolate Christmas Cake.
The ideas are endless!!
Are you a chai fan like us?
You are so clever Son! I love the way that you are inspired to figure out who to healthify products of pure decadence, so we don’t have to miss out. Thoughtful hot tips as well 🙂
thanks Kirri – all I seem to do some days is dream about food 🙂
I am drooling… I’ll be ordering Crio Bru by the kilo before long! Another brilliant idea – thanks Sonia. Keep dreaming about food 😀
you can use it in everything!! have you discovered Tenina yet? she has so many good recipes using it 🙂
I ‘like’ her but haven’t had her in my feed for a while. I’ve opened a tab and will pin recipes while I have my afternoon Crio 😉
That looks so good!
trust me, it’s really good and a little addictive!! 😀
Hi. I was just wondering if you could tell me how many grams in a cup of Crio Bru? Great idea to make these as a gift, but I need to know how much to buy to make a few quantities… Thanks.
Hey Tracey – must measured it for you and it’s 80g!
Sonia, that sounds AMAZING! You’ve read my mind. The last 2 days I’ve had lunch out with friends and both days I had iced chai’s with almond milk! Thinking I should make them at home. I’ve got some hazelnuts soaking today to make hazelnut milk and I reckon this would go perfectly with it 🙂
oooh totally yes!!
Oh, this sounds so so yum!Could we use 1 cup of cacao powder instead?
try it and let me know – might go a bit cloudy?
Thanx Sonia. Just wondering where can you get “nut bags” from please?
Hey Linzi, Jane at Organics on a Budget sells them or take a look at your health food store. http://www.organicsonabudget.com.au/living-synergy-nut-milk-bag-free-shipping/
This looks wonderful. I am a cardoon addict and so can’t wait to try it!
Hi Sonia, have you ever made this without the Coco Briu? I was wanting to make this for my mum for xmas but she isn’t a chocolate fan. TIA 🙂
HI Bea, just use some black tea instead of the Crio, but maybe about 8 -10 teabags worth and pop them in at the end so you don’t get that stewed tea taste?
This sounds amazing Sonia! I think I have all these at home too – now I have a cooking project for the weekend! YUM! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Jodie 🙂
I LOVE chai, but I stopped ordering it after I got a few far-too-sweet ones. This looks like the perfect solution Sonia. I even have a nut milk bag begging for it’s first use!
Thanks for linking it with I’m Pinning Around, and for displaying the badge!
Amanda x
Thanks Amanda – those chais you are getting are a yucky powder mix! So much nicer when you get real chai tea, brew it up and sweeten with a little honey!