Recipes

Mandala chai is made for lattes, but it doesn't stop there. A few favorites from our kitchen and our bar.

Chai Spiced Panna Cotta with Maple Caramel and Hazelnuts

Approx. 8 servings

Panna cotta

• 1 quart heavy cream
• Scant 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• A pinch of ground allspice
• A few gratings of fresh nutmeg
• 4 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin
• 1/2 cup Mandala Chai Co. Original

Maple caramel

• 1/2 cup real maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp water

Garnish

• 1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped and toasted

1. In a small saucepan, combine heavy cream, sugar and ground spices over medium-low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the spices smell fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
2. In a large bowl, combine the chai concentrate with the gelatin and stir briefly so no dry gelatin remains. Let sit for ten minutes.
3. Slowly pour the warm cream mixture into the chai and gelatin, stirring until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
4. Ladle into eight lightly greased ramekins or short glasses, a little over four ounces each.
5. Refrigerate for four hours or until firm. If chilling overnight, press plastic wrap gently onto the surface to prevent a skin.
6. Just before serving, combine the maple caramel ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir often until bubbling and beginning to thicken.
7. Run a knife around each ramekin and flip onto a plate, or serve in the glass. Drizzle with maple caramel and top with toasted hazelnuts. Best enjoyed as soon as it's set; keeps covered in the fridge for a couple of days.

Cranberry Chai Mule

Approx. 5 servings

Cranberry chai syrup

• 1 cup cranberries, washed
• 3 strips of orange zest
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 inch piece of ginger, smashed
• 1 cup Mandala Chai Co. Original
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

Mule and garnish

• Unflavored vodka
• Ginger beer
• Limes, cut into wheels (optional)

1. Combine all syrup ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the cranberries burst, keeping a lazy simmer. Remove from heat and cool 10 to 15 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a glass container and refrigerate; keeps about one week.
2. To build each mule, add 1.5 oz vodka and 1.5 oz cooled syrup to a glass. Fill with ice and stir. Top with about 2 oz ginger beer and garnish with a lime wheel.

Chai Spiced Amaretti

Approx. 22 cookies

Dough

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• A pinch of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• A pinch of allspice
• A pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp Mandala Chai Co. Original
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 egg white, whipped to soft peaks

For rolling

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Gently fold the chai concentrate and almond extract into the egg white, then fold in the dry ingredients until a stiff, paste-like dough forms. Refrigerate loosely covered for 30 minutes.
3. Mix the rolling sugar and cinnamon. Scoop half-tablespoon balls, roll between your palms, then roll through the cinnamon sugar. Place 1 inch apart and bake about 12 minutes, until puffed and just beginning to crack.
4. Cool on the sheet for ten minutes, then move to a rack. Best within three days.

Chai Spiced Apple Cider

Approx. 10 servings

• 1/2 gallon unsweetened, best-quality apple cider
• 1 cup Mandala Chai Co. Original
• 3 cardamom pods
• 10 allspice berries
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 orange, half sliced into thin rounds, half juiced
• 1/2 lemon, sliced into thin rounds
• 1 two-inch piece of ginger, sliced lengthwise
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Combine everything in a large pot over medium heat. Tuck the dry spices into a tea sachet for easy removal if you like. Bring to a simmer, then reduce to medium-low and keep gently warm, stirring now and then, for up to two and a half hours.
2. Remove the hard spices and ladle into mugs. Garnish with cinnamon sticks and fresh orange slices. Refrigerate leftovers; best within three days.

Chai Man (Chai Manhattan)

A classic, spice-driven cocktail built on a quality rye. We swap the sweet vermouth for a blend of Mandala Spicy Chai and our Chai 2:1 Syrup for a more elevated sip.

• 1.5 oz Rittenhouse Rye 100 proof
• 0.75 oz Mandala Spicy Chai
• 0.25 oz Mandala Chai 2:1 Syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 dash orange bitters

1. Add all ingredients to a mixing glass.
2. Add ice and stir until chilled.
3. Strain into a chilled glass.
4. Garnish with a flamed cinnamon stick and orange peel.

It's a Vodka Drink: Chai Edition

Let's be honest, White Russians are delicious and essential in a liquid dessert situation. Mandala's Original Chai, cold brew coffee concentrate, Chai 2:1 Syrup, Cinnamon Syrup and some coconut cream make this drink feel like a delightful splurge. With careful balance and preparation, this can be all you need without feeling like too much. Crushed ice is key in this recipe. The measures are customizable to fit your taste, so decide your own sweet adventure.

• 2 oz Tito's Vodka
• 0.5 oz Mr. Black Cold Brew Liqueur
• 1 oz coconut cream
• 1 oz cold brew concentrate
• 0.5 oz Mandala Original Chai
• 0.75 oz Chai 2:1 Syrup
• 0.25 oz Cinnamon 2:1 Syrup

1. Add all ingredients to a shaking tin with a scoop of crushed ice.
2. Shake and pour the shaking tin contents into a glass, then top with fresh crushed ice.
3. Float 0.5 oz Mandala Spicy Chai over the top. Garnish with grated nutmeg and a flamed cinnamon stick.

Tequila Chai Daisy

Everyone loves a margarita. They're friendly and accessible, and have an understood place in any bar. This drink takes it back to an elevated place, built around the original Daisy: a switch of citrus and a blend of tequilas instead of brandy, served in a stemmed glass near freezing.

The blend of tequilas brings out the broad flavors agave has to offer. Tequila should be respected like any other spirit, and we highly suggest 100% blue agave tequilas. The chai plays well with the dry curaçao and the nutmeg. A good trick for shaking this drink: shake it well, but not so much that you bruise the tequila. The flavors are dense, but not dense enough to hold up to over-dilution. Treat this one well, and it will carry you home.

• 1 oz Espolòn Blanco Tequila
• 1 oz Espolòn Reposado Tequila
• 0.5 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
• 0.5 oz lemon juice
• 0.5 oz orange juice
• 0.5 oz Mandala Spicy Chai

1. Add ingredients to a shaking tin and cover with ice.
2. Shake firmly and double strain into a chilled glass with no ice.
3. Garnish with grated nutmeg over the top.

Chai 2:1 Syrup

A simple syrup, spiced up. More sugar than water gives a silkier mouthfeel and better control of flavor in a drink. Don't boil it; just melt it at a bare simmer and store it chilled until you're ready to spice up your next drink.

• 4 oz Mandala Original Chai
• 8 oz pure cane sugar

1. Warm both in a saucepan to a bare simmer, only until the sugar melts. Do not boil.
2. Cool and store in an airtight jar in the fridge.

Cinnamon 2:1 Syrup

Not a cocktail necessity, but useful for all kinds of non-alcoholic drinks and treats. Try it on oatmeal or in your morning coffee. Kept in the fridge, it lasts for months. A garnish tip: keep the whole cinnamon sticks from making this syrup and dry them on parchment in a low oven. They make great garnishes for cocktails and mocktails alike.

• 6 to 9 whole cinnamon sticks
• 9 oz pure cane sugar
• 4.5 oz water

1. Toast the cinnamon sticks in a dry pan.
2. Cover with the water and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce to a high simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add the sugar and simmer until it's melted.
5. Let cool.
6. Store together overnight.
7. Strain out the cinnamon and keep the syrup in the fridge.