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Dr. Hébert’s Personal Chai Recipe

Delicious and exotic chai tea is one of the best things you can drink in terms of an anti-inflammatory beverage. For anyone who suffers from joint pains, Chai tea is particularly effective—though everyone is different and results will certainly vary, many people are able to actually wean themselves off ibuprofen, naproxen or other pain-relieving drugs once they begin drinking Chai.

This Indian-inspired chai combines black tea, spices, and honey. Highly anti-inflamatory, Dr. Hebert himself enjoys at least one fresh cup a day. The savory notes from black pepper, anise, and cardamom in this version give it a wonderful aromatic complexity.

Note: You need two large tea “balls” (a wire mesh contraption about 7 cm or 3 inches in diameter) and a large teapot [≥1.5 liter (L)/quart])

All of these measures are approximate. It is hard to make a mistake. Please feel free to experiment!

Ingredients:
Teaball1:

  • About 50 g to 75g (2-3oz – 3-5 tablespoons) of fresh ginger –lots more if you like ginger

Teaball2:

  • 2 teaspoons of loose tea leaves/ flakes
  • ¾  teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • ¾ teaspoon of ground cardamom
  • ¾ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
  • ¾ teaspoon of ground coriander
  • ¾ teaspoon of ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon whole (or ground) cloves

Additional ingredients:

  • 2-3 tablespoons honey
  • 1/2-3/4 L soy or almond milk

Instructions:

  1. Boil about 1 L water (1 liter is about equal to 1 quart).
  2. Grate fresh ginger and put the ginger into one of the 3” diameter tea balls
  3. Add all other ingredients to the second tea ball. You can also add:
  • Anise
  • Pepper
  • Vanilla
  • Anything else that strikes your fancy
  1. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of honey to the hot water in the teapot.  Stir.
  2. Add both tea “balls” to the hot water & honey.
  3. Add about ½ to ¾ L soy or almond milk.
  4. Let steep for 10 to 15 minutes.