I have had a ton of culinary fun with my Jasmine plant this year; I love the added creativity that it has provided in my world. At this point the last few flowers are in full bloom.  This plant is also a reminder of how fortunate I am to have a place where my plant can grow freely.Last week I posted a recipe on how to make Jasmine Syrup. The amount that I made has given me the opportunity to do so much experimenting!

The first type of Chai, tea in Farsi (which is pronounced CHA-EE), that I am going to talk about is the hot type. Personally, I drink my tea and coffee, whether is be hot or cold, without sugar. But I happy drank both the hot and cold versions featured here when I added the Jasmine Syrup to see how it would taste. These recipes are simply and the amount of Jasmine syrup added is based on how sweet you like your tea.

With that said, there is a very important element here that should not be ignored when making either one of these teast. The type of tea that is used must not have a strong flavor or scent. In fact, it’s very easy to competed with Jasmine’s subtle flavor or smell. Therefore, I suggest using Earl Gray tea.

Ingredients

Earl Gray Tea, loose tea leaves or tea bag
Jasmine Syrup

For the Hot Tea:

Bring water to a boil. Add loose leaves or tea bag. Allow the tea to brew for about 5 minutes. If using loose tea leaves you can follow the instructions on my How to Brew Persian Tea (note: do not include the rose petals as suggested in the post).

Pour hot tea in a tea cup and add Jasmine syrup to taste.

For Iced-Tea:

Follow the same steps as for the hot tea. Add desired amount of Jasmine syrup and allow to come to room temperature. Add ice cubes and drink nice and cold!