Iced Dirty Maple Chai

Creamy and cooling, this delicious iced dirty maple chai is the perfect drink for summer! With the addition of a fresh egg yolk, it boasts minerals and nutrients normal dirty chais don’t have. Double win!

Iced Dirty Maple Chai

Even though I’ve been drinking chai for yeeeears, and coffee for at least the past 3 years, dirty chai is a rather recent development for me. I’d never had a dirty chai, nor even heard of it, until a women’s retreat I went on last year. As my friend’s daughter was making morning coffees for everyone, and someone asked for a dirty chai. After watching her make it, I knew I had to make a healthier version of my own at home.

After a few tweaks, and a week of trying it out on all my friends to make sure it wasn’t just me that liked it, my recipe for iced dirty maple chai was born. Just enough sweetness from the maple syrup to not make it too strong or bitter, and a yummy fresh egg yolk added in for nutritional reasons.

To be honest, I usually prefer hot coffee over iced. And if you’re the same, you can totally make this a non-iced dirty maple chai. Just… warm it up. But during those summer months when it’s a bazillion degrees outside here in the south, iced coffees are definitely happening!

Coffee.

When it comes to making a dirty chai, there are two super important components: coffee and chai. I know, that was brilliant. But seriously, there are so many versions of each, you gotta know what you like to make this iced dirty maple chai work perfectly for you. 

I prefer my coffee and chai to be organic and not super strong. My favorite coffee is the stuff from Aldi. The Simply Nature organic whole beans from Peru (which also happen to be fair-trade!). Since coffee beans are usually heavily doused with pesticides, it’s important to try and drink organic coffee if you can afford it. Especially for all you decaf drinkers. Since my husband usually prefers decaf, I get him the 365 organic decaf from Whole Foods or Wicked Joe organic French decaf (also fair-trade!). 

And remember friends, with great coffee comes great responsibility. That means never drink coffee on an empty stomach! It can send your body into a “flight or fight” response, and can eventually lead to gastrointestinal issues and even thyroid problems. But if you’ve already eaten a good balance of protein, saturated fats, and easy-to-disgest carbs, have at this iced dirty maple chai! Coffee has important nutrients like riboflavin, pantothenic acid, niacin, potassium, manganese, and magnesium, so drink up – it’s for your health.

Chai.

For this dirty maple chai, I used a nice masala chia blend from a local tea company. It’s not available on Amazon, but you can get it on their website – Table Rock Tea Company. But there are many delicious blends out there you can use instead. Organic India’s tulsi masala chai is one of my favorites, and Blue Lotus Chai is tasty, too. Basically, just look for a blend with black tea, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, chicory, cardamom, black pepper, etc. I’m sure you can use whatever kind you enjoy!

Egg yolk.

Now, I know a lot of people balk at the thought of eating raw eggs. I mean, the media has told us that it’s weird and not healthy for years. But, like so many other things, they’re wrong. Raw egg yolks are packed with nutrition and very easy to digest! In fact, raw is the way my body likes them best. I generally eat up to three raw egg yolks a day. Raw yolks are a delicious way to get a healthy dose of vitamins B6, folate, B12, A, D, E, and K, plus egg yolks contain 90 percent of the egg’s calcium and iron! Just make sure the eggs you eat raw are from a trusted source, like your own backyard hens, a local farmer, etc. I’ve even used Costco’s organic eggs. Fear not, my friends.

Of course, if you’re allergic to eggs, you can just leave the egg yolk out of this recipe. It will still be yummy. And if you still want a protein boost, add in some collagen instead!

Options.

I pretty much use full-fat coconut milk in all my fancy and fun drinks. I like to use Thai Kitchen’s coconut milk or my homemade coconut milk. Of course, if you can handle dairy, feel free to use organic or fresh whole milk. 

For the sweetener, I obviously use maple syrup for an iced dirty maple chai. BUT if you’re like, “I really want to make this, but I don’t have any maple syrup!” You can still enjoy it with honey. No judgment. 😉 

Last note is salt. Yes, I like to put non-iodized sea salt in pretty much everything. I don’t worry about too much sodium or whatever. Our bodies need salt! It’s very necessary for our cells. Celtic Sea Salt, or Azure Standard’s brand (all their stuff is amazing!) are good options for sea salt.

In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks!