Coconut Milk Chai Latte

coconut milk chai latte
Hot chia is served for celebrations at my yoga studio. The spicy blend warms and soothes the body, a mimicking of yoga’s euphoria. It’s my version of a hot toddy, spiked with spice instead of liquor. I replaced the milk in this traditional recipe with coconut milk and to cut down on time, I used tea bags rather than blending my own spices. You can make your own chai of course. I decided to go the easy route and use the very convenient decaf chai tea bags. Danielle Walker of Against All Grain has a wonderful recipe and I encourage everyone to make it themselves at least once.

The trick to a creamy dairy-free latte is in the type of coconut milk. Fullfat canned coconut milk produces the best results. It contains the thick coconut cream that will separate from the watery part. That cream is the part to use when making this recipe. The canned light variations have a higher water to coconut milk ratio. Water is added to thin out the cream so you’re getting less coconut than if you were to use fullfat. It’s more economical to buy the fullfat and thin it yourself if you wish. I recommend going all in and choosing the cream for a delicious, rich drink and more healthy fat too.

Coconut Milk Chai Latte
Makes 4 servings. 

1 cup fullfat canned coconut milk (I like this brand)
2 cups water
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp maple syrup
4 decaf chai tea bags (I used this)

►Heat coconut milk and water over medium high heat in a saucepan. Once it begins to simmer, reduce heat to low.
►Add tea bags and allow to steep for 5 minutes.
►Remove tea bags. Stir in vanilla and maple syrup.
►Serve hot or cold.


Resources:

Chai Tea Concentrate, http://againstallgrain.com/2012/12/20/chai-tea-concentrate/