Chamomile Milk Tea
Chamomile steeped in reconstituted milk powder, not water. A hot drink for cold nights that actually has calories in it.
- calories
- 190
- weight
- 1.6 oz
- cal / oz
- 119
- protein
- 8 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 7 min
- water
- 250 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Drink
- Dessert
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Powdered whole milk | 1/4 cup | whole, not nonfat, for the fat |
|---|---|---|
| Chamomile tea bags | 2 | bags, not loose leaf, so there is nothing to strain |
| Sugar | 2 tsp | or a honey packet |
| Vanilla powder | 1/4 tsp | extract is alcohol and leaks |
| Cinnamon | a pinch | |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- Bring 250 ml of water to a bare simmer. Do not let it roll hard.
- Pull the pot off the flame and whisk in the milk powder with your spoon until there are no lumps. Add it to boiling water and it scorches on the pot bottom.
- Drop in the tea bags, cover the pot with a lid or your bowl, and leave it eight to ten minutes.
- Pull the bags. Stir in sugar, vanilla powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Stir hard for twenty seconds to raise a little foam, then drink from the pot.
The coffee-shop version simmers fresh milk in a saucepan and froths it. On trail the milk is powder and the froth is whatever you can beat up with a spoon, but the important part carries over: steeping the chamomile in milk instead of water. Fat holds the floral compounds that water lets escape as steam, so the tea tastes like more than warm water with a smell.
Two things keep it from failing. Mix the powder into hot-but-not-boiling water off the heat, or it clumps and welds to the pot. And the salt is not optional in a sweet drink at altitude, where everything tastes flatter than it did at home.
Packing
Milk powder, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt go in one small bag per serving. Tea bags ride in the same bag, stems tucked in so they do not tear it.
Variations
- Powdered coconut milk in place of dairy makes it vegan and dairy-free.
- Swap the chamomile for a chai blend and double the cinnamon.
- A tablespoon of cocoa powder turns it into something closer to a nightcap.
https://cornercoffeestore.com/chamomile-tea-latte-recipe