February is almost over and we are officially at the end of winter. Even though we woke up today to the mountains of snow here in Toronto, everyone can feel that spring is near. My dog Toby spends his days looking out the window dreaming about long walks in the park and naps on the balcony.
For now, however, the evenings are still long and last night I thought that it would be great to have a cup of rooibos chai tea.

Homemade Rooibos Chai Tea
Rooibos tea (also known as red tea) is full of antioxidants and is naturally caffeine-free so it’s totally fine to drink it in the evening instead of traditional black or green tea which are not caffeine-free. Adding some spices to rooibos tea makes it even more flavourful.
Ingredients
- 4 cups of water
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 3 peppercorns
- 2 whole cloves
- 2 tea-bags of rooibos tea
- pinch of allspice
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of ground ginger
- agave nectar or honey to taste
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, add the water, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, and whole cloves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- Rinse a 5-cup (1.25 L) teapot with boiling water; discard. Add the spice mixture, including the spices, to the teapot. Add the teabags, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger. Stir gently. Cover the teapot and let the tea steep for 3 minutes. Serve immediately.
- Add some agave nectar or honey if desired.