Porridge is one of the ultimate nourishing comfort foods, and – as we’re heading towards colder weather – it seems like many of us are finding ourselves drawn to the cozy carby comforts of a hot bowl of oats.

While I do always like to mix things up with my porridge, my absolute favorite right now is tea-flavored porridge, using the limited edition ‘Indian Summer‘ rooibos blend by innovative tea company Yumchaa. I took one whiff of this and knew I would love its exotic, warming fragrances, which include chai spices, cinnamon, holy basil, ground roasted almonds and carrot flakes. The mix also contains fun little shooting stars that look absolutely delightful if you pick them out and use them to decorate your porridge.

This beautiful blend infuses my morning porridge bowl with so much flavor – its notes of Indian summer bringing an alluring warmth to winter mornings.

This is not the first of Yumchaa’s teas that I’ve tried, as they’ve been so kind as to send me some of their other flavors in the past, as well as invite me to a wonderfully relaxing Yoga & Mindfulness evening at their Tottenham Street Cafe in London, which was followed by tea (of course) and cake.* I really love their unique teas (favorites include the white tea-based ‘Gentle Giant‘, the mind-blowing ‘Blue Voodoo‘ (it really turns your tea blue!), fiery rooibos-based ‘Chilli Chilli Bang Bang‘ and ‘Peanut Butter & Jam‘), the packaging, and the vibe in their lovely cafes, which are worth keeping up to date with for things like yoga brunches 😉

*[While I have been sent this tea, I want to mention that I haven’t been paid to endorse Yumchaa or any of their products, and am only stating my genuine thoughts and opinions.]

Now, enough chatter, let’s get to the recipe!

Indian Summer Porridge

Makes: 1 serving

Ingredients: Porridge

• 40g oats
• 20g quinoa flakes (or more oats)
• 200 ml boiling water
• 1 heaped tbsp Yumchaa Indian Summer tea
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp full fat coconut milk + 2 tbsp water (or 4 tbsp oat milk)

Ingredients: Toppings

• ca. 50 g frozen berries, defrosted
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• orange zest, from 1/2 orange
• (maple syrup to sweeten, if desired)
• additional: mango, nut or seed butter

Method

1. The night before: Pour the boiling water into a pan, mix with the looseleaf tea, place the lid on and leave overnight. (Alternative: grind the tea into a fine powder and use in your porridge the morning you make it; this saves time and adds extra flavor, but can leave you with gritty bits if the tea is not finely ground).
2. The next morning, pour the liquid through a sieve and then back into the pan. Heat up and add the oat and quinoa flakes.
3. Let the flakes soak up the tea-flavored water while cooking on medium heat for a few minutes.
4. Stir in the coconut milk & water/ or oat milk as well as the maple syrup and let the porridge cook for another 5 minutes or so.
5. While the porridge is cooking, make the chia jam by combining all the ingredients (berries, chia seeds, orange juice & zest, and – if using – maple syrup) and heating up, either in another small pan or in the microwave.  Mash it all together with a fork and set aside.
6. Once the porridge is cooked and wonderfully creamy, serve together with the chia jam and any other toppings you desire, like mango and walnut butter.

Enjoy!

Feel free to tag @blueberrysmiles22 if you share your creations on Instagram, so I can share in the joy 🙂