Cinnamon Oolong Chai Infused Maple Syrup Caramel Sauce

Infusing tea into confections and other foods is a new obsession of mine and I've worked with a few bakers and chefs around St Pete to explore the full creativity of what tea can be used for. The local chef behind IG account @slate.stpete steeped the Lavender Chamomile Kick in heavy cream used to make chocolate truffles and the cayenne in the tea set the flavor off! Wow, what a treat those were.

Another chef encouraged me to use the Bourbon Smoked White tea in my next batch of chicken stock that we make in the pressure cooker. I can't wait to see what the oaky charred goodness does to enhance the stock that we use for so many different soups and recipes. 

I've explored fancy peach tea cocktails, which are PERFECT for brunch and really focused on creating the best cold brew tea cocktails with bourbon and vodka. Tea is so versatile, it's amazing to explore what type of infusions you can do outside of just plain water!

The recipe below is from a dear friend Emma, who is a sister mompreneur hustling to bring her gluten-free plantain flour baking mix to more and more families with food sensitivities and allergies. She created a recipe with her chef husband that perfectly infused the sharp cinnamon and early oolong flavor of our Cinnamon Oolong Chai sweetened tea bags into a beautiful maple caramel sauce to top everything from pancakes to a waffle bowl or even peach ice cream! If you can keep from eating it straight out of the bowl, that is. 

We had a girls brunch recently and she taught me quite a lot about making pancakes and this beautiful infused maple syrup topping. I'll share the knowledge-bomb that she dropped on me: Never pat the back of the pancakes after you flip them! She says this keeps them from reaching their fluffiest potential. 

The recipe below is for the tea-infused maple syrup caramel sauce. It's a must-make for your next pancake breakfast for brunch.

Ingredients:

• 2 bags Cinnamon Oolong Chai tea
• 1 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cup of coconut milk (she used Califia Farms toasted coconut milk, but full fat coconut milk works great, too)
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• ½ tsp salt

Preparation:

1. Pour coconut milk into a medium saucepan with bags of tea and bring to a simmer
2. Simmer on medium heat for 4 minutes until coconut milk turns light brown
3. Add maple syrup, vanilla, and salt and whisk ingredients for several minutes until homogenized.
4. Turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes and remove tea bags.
5. Take off heat and allow to cool
6. Serve over Mama Emma’s pancakes or drizzle on sliced apples for a healthy fall treat!

Aside from this mouthwatering infused maple syrup, you can also use our Cinnamon Oolong Chai tea to make a fun vegan eggnog—perfect for the holidays. But if you want to keep it simple before diving into the world of culinary delicacies, treat yourself to a perfectly pre-sweetened cup of artisan tea first. Browse our collections of Oolong and Chai tea bags for more crave-worthy flavors.