Chai

In America, chai has come to refer to a type of spiced tea.  In much of the world chai (or a similar variation) is simply the word for tea.  Masala chai is a beverage from India that is made by brewing tea with aromatic spices.  It is this blending of tea with spices that has been adopted by many and simply called chai.

Unlike the Darjeeling region where tea was cultivated, the Assam region of India has produced wild tea since antiquity.  This wild tea was considered an herbal medicine and not a beverage.  Many of the spice mixtures used to make Masala chai can be found in ancient medical texts of India.  In the mid-18th century, deliberate tea cultivation was introduced to Assam.

Despite the growing popularity of Assam tea in Great Britain, Indian tea consumption remained low until the British owned Indian Tea Association began an aggressive promotional campaign in the early 20th century.  The Indian Tea Association promoted the English style of tea that was served with milk and sugar but local tea vendors mixed in spices.  Masala chai became a popular beverage that outlasted the British rule in India and spread throughout the world.

Brewing traditional chai involves brewing tea with boiled water over sustained heat in a way that produces as much caffeine as  coffee.  There is no fixed recipe for masala chai but there are four basic components to masala chai:  tea, sweetener, milk and spices.

tea - typically masala chai is made with a stong black tea such as Assam.  Even with this general rule the Kashmiri people of India generally prefer to make their chai with gunpowder green tea.

sweetener - Although a variety of sweeteners are used, chai is often surprisingly sweet as this brings out the flavor of the spices.

milk - Whole milk is most often used because the richness balances the spice.  Masala chai typically uses 1/4 to 1/2 parts milk with water.  The tea is steeped directly into the water and milk mixture.

 spices - Although cardamom is typically the dominant spice of chai a variety of other spices are used according to individual taste.  These spices can include cinnamon, ginger, star anice, cloves, and black peppercorns.  In some areas of western India mint is a common ingredient while in Kashmir safron and almonds are sometimes added.

The growing popularity of chai has introduced many varieties including the Americanized chai latte which is a steamed milk beverage flavored with tea and spices.  We are happy to sell our own special chai variations.

masala chai - a traditional chai that blends assam loose leaf tea with cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and other spices.

chai tea - china black tea is flavored with a special spice blend and then mixed with traditional chai spices

chai decaffeinated - a decaf version of our chai tea using ceylon decaffeinated tea with our special spice blend and traditional chai spices

lemon chai - lemon flavored china black tea blended with chai spices

vanilla chai - rich, vanilla flavoerd china black blended with chai spices

honey chai tea blend - sweet honeybush herbal tea with traditional chai spices

rooibos chai - South African red herbal tea blended with chai spices