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Bon Appétit

Orange Peel Chai

4.4

(19)

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Photograph by Heami Lee, food styling by Maggie Ruggiero, prop styling by Sophia Pappas

This tea combines warming spices with the bright, bitter flavor of orange peels. Perfect for sick days, the recipe is totally adaptable—add cloves or fennel seeds, or stir in ground spices (or ½ tsp. of a blend like chai masala or haldi doodh) at the end. And if you like your drinks on the savory side, try adding ¼ tsp. smoky black cardamom.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    2 Servings

Ingredients

2

clementines or 1 large orange

2

cinnamon sticks or 1 Tbsp. Burlap & Barrel cinnamon verum shavings

5

green cardamom pods, crushed

1

¾" piece ginger, peeled, sliced

2

tsp. loose black or green tea or 2 tea bags

Lemon wedges and honey (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Remove peels from clementines, trying to leave as much white pith behind as possible; set clementines aside for another use (or snacking!). Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add clementine peels, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, and ginger and cook 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let sit 5 minutes.

    Step 2

    Set mixture over high heat and return to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in tea. Let sit 2 minutes.

    Step 3

    Strain chai through a fine-mesh sieve into 2 glasses, dividing evenly. Squeeze in lemon juice and add honey to taste.

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Reviews (19)

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  • I can"t wait to try it.

    • Anonymous

    • oklahoma city

    • 5/6/2021

  • I totally missed “cook for three minutes” in Step 1 the first time around. Perhaps it should be a separate sentence or the paragraph should end there. I was so confused I re-boiled, cooked, and let sit again. Anyway, I obviously didn’t do a good job following the steps exactly, but it seemed like the lemon just overpowered the whole thing. Don’t be like me!

    • Anonymous

    • 5/7/2021

  • I'm curious to know why remove from heat and let sit then heat it up again?

    • Cami SoCal Cycling Chef

    • San Diego, Ca

    • 6/15/2021

  • I’ve made this recipe twice. I had no use for whole oranges with extra pith, squeezing them and scooping out the white lining made for less bitter tea and fresh juice. The second step is useless. After boiling ingredients for five minutes, turn off the heat, wait for bubbles to recede, add tea, steep to desired taste then serve with honey alone. Lemon here seems like a throw at it and it was the worst idea. The green tea version on the stove is cooling now. Bon Appetite nailed this combination of flavors as Indian tea trifecta.

    • Emme Sfea

    • Denver, CO

    • 8/10/2021