Ingredients
2 cups/480 ml boiling water
2 Tbsp Darjeeling or Assam loose whole tea leaves
1 Tbsp chai masala, homemade or store-bought
2 lb/910 g fresh and ripe pineapple, cored and diced
¼ cup/60 ml fresh lime juice
Sugar or sweetener of your choice as needed
Lime slices for garnish
Ice as needed
Instructions
- Place the boiling water in a heat-proof bowl or jug, add the tea leaves and chai masala, stir, and let steep for at least 2 hours, preferably 4 hours.
- Once the tea is steeped, add the pineapple and lime juice to a blender. Strain the steeped tea through a fine mesh sieve over the blender and discard the tea leaves. Blend until smooth. Line a fine mesh strainer with muslin, place the strainer over a large bowl, and strain the blended pineapple mixture. The liquid will be a pale golden yellow and clear. Discard the pulp present in the muslin. You should get about 6.5 cups/1.5 L of liquid. Bring the volume up to 2 qt/2 L with cold water. Taste and sweeten with sugar if needed. Served chilled over ice and slices of lime. The drink can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days.
Notes
- If you own a juicer or buy pineapple juice, you can skip the blender step and mix the strained tea with the fruit juice. I’ve written the recipe with the extra step for those who might prefer to start with fresh ripe pineapple.
- Make sure that the pineapple is ripe and sweet. The sweeter it tastes, the less sugar you’ll need.
- The longer the tea steeps, the stronger the flavor. Use twice the amount of tea leaves for an extra robust tea flavor.
