Brrrrrr! It's beautiful and COLD. This weekend my son and I mixed up our favorite spice blend for chai. Every few weeks we prepare several bags of chai so that they are ready to brew. This is a delicious combination of whole spices that will warm you up from the inside. Each brew will make two quarts of chai concentrate. This recipe is caffeine free, though you can can a pinch of black tea or a black teabag to your cup when you make a serving if you want to.

We like to warm up equal parts of chai concentrate and milk (dairy or coconut milk), a spoonful of honey and a little scoop of coconut oil.

This recipe is modified from http://nourishedkitchen.com/chai-spiced-butter-tea/

Bluestem Chai Blend

• 8 cups water

• 3 tablespoons puerh tea - optional

• 8 cardamom pods, crushed

• 6 whole cloves

• 2 star anise pods

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 1 tablespoon dried ginger (not powdered)

• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds

• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds

• 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns

• ½ teaspoon anise seeds

Bring to boil and simmer at least 10 minutes. Strain and store in glass jars in the refridgerator up to a week.