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Epicurious

Chaider

Image may contain Drink Beverage and Pottery
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Yekaterina Boytsova, prop styling by Emily Eisen

This chaider recipe is our warm, spiced-up, wintery alternative to bulletproof coffee. It’s a sweet mash-up of masala chai flavors and mulled cider, with an unexpected buttery finish to smooth it all out.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    2 servings

Ingredients

3½ cups fresh apple cider
18 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 3" cinnamon stick, broken into pieces with the flat side of a chef’s knife
1 2" piece ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
6 whole cloves
1 tsp. black peppercorns
4 black tea bags, such as PG Tips
2 tsp. ghee, unsalted butter, or virgin coconut oil (optional)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring apple cider, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and peppercorns to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until reduced by about half, 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add tea bags and press down to submerge. Cover and let steep 5 minutes.

    Step 2

    Strain tea mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring glass, pressing firmly on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Wipe out saucepan. Return chaider to saucepan and reheat over medium until just barely simmering.

    Step 3

    Divide chaider and ghee, if using, between mugs. Serve hot.

    Step 4

    Do Ahead: Cider and tea mixture can be made 5 days ahead. Strain and chill. Gently reheat in a small saucepan over medium heat.

TagsHot DrinkBeveragesApple CiderCardamomHerbs & SpicesCinnamonFallWinterQuickEasyGluten FreeVeganVegetarianDairy FreeNut FreeNonalcoholicHealthyishSimmerBon Appétit

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