It was shocking to me how much beyond antioxidants that black tea is credited for, so I’m going to quote here from Livestrong.

“Widely recognized as a mental stimulant, black tea is also recognized for its other potential health benefits, primarily because of its caffeine and antioxidant content. Black tea also contains enough fluoride to possibly help prevent dental carries, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Black tea can help prevent orthostatic hypertension — dizziness caused by standing too quickly — and is possibly effective for reducing the risk of heart attacks, atherosclerosis, kidney stones, Parkinson’s disease and ovarian cancer. Research for other types of cancer in animals suggests that black tea may have an effect in reducing the risk of certain cancers, such as prostate and lung cancer, but studies in humans have yielded mixed results. More research is needed for other supposed benefits, including those for osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, tooth decay, high blood pressure and stomach disorders.”

Chia seeds deliver omega-3, calcium, protein, fiber, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin b, and other minerals. Unlike flax seeds, your body will absorb the nutrients in chia seeds whether they are ground or not. One thing that you may not know is how chia seeds can help you shed weight due to the carbohydrates being mostly fiber.

Small note, if you’ve never had chia pudding, I recommend doing just vanilla, sweetener and mylk to start, not chai. Reason being that simple is always best when trying out something new. Just using the vanilla and not the chai tea blend will have more of a tapioca pudding texture and flavor.

Vanilla Chai Chia Pudding

Yield: Half Quart of Chia Pudding

Ingredients

• 1 cup black tea (1 tea bags and 1 cup of boiling water or mylk)
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon (or a cinnamon stick)
• dash of allspice (dash should be a bit less than 1/8 tsp)
• dash clove powder
• dash ginger powder
• dash fresh ground pepper

• 3/4 cup chia seeds
• 3 cups coconut milk
• 3 tbsp vanilla
• 1 tsp vanilla paste (optional)
• 1/4-1/2 cup sweetener (maple syrup or honey)

• Bananas
• Coconut Whipped Cream
• Coconut Flakes

Instructions

1. Boil 2 cups of water (or milk if doing the traditional chai) and steep 2 black tea bag and all of the spices.
2. Strain the tea in cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer
3. Mix the tea and the remaining pudding ingredients together in a large bowl
4. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes
5. Divide mixture into single serving containers or one large container (I use jam jars)
6. Let sit overnight in the fridge
7. Top with toppings once you are ready to eat
8. Enjoy!

Notes