Coffee 2 Tea

While many people might only be familiar with chai by virtue of Starbucks, actual masala chai has been around a lot longer than that global institution. The word chai simply means tea, and this verbiage is used in many areas of the world. Masala chai, therefore, can be roughly translated as spiced tea. Chai tea had its origins in India, and it can be understood as a mixture of brewed tea and aromatic herbs and spices.

In the western world, chai most often comes in the form of a chai latte. This indicates that steamed milk has been flavored with concentrated chai rather than the typical espresso that flavors lattes. Alternate names for this type of beverage also include chai tea latte. While this tea today is viewed entirely as a treat on cold, rainy days, the original use was actually more medicinal. To that end, this and other teas were used to treat and prevent various remedies in many places of South Asia.

Tea plants have grown wild in the Assam region since antiquity, but historically, South Asians viewed tea as an herbal medicine rather than a recreational beverage. Some of the chai masala spice mixtures in current use are still derived from Ayurvedic medical texts.

In the 1830s, the British East India Company became concerned about the Chinese monopoly on tea, which constituted most of its trade and supported the enormous consumption of tea in Great Britain, approximately one pound (by weight) per person per year. British colonists had recently noticed the existence of the Assamese tea plants, and now began to cultivate tea plantations locally. Over 90% of the tea consumed in Great Britain was still of Chinese origin in 1870, but by 1900, this percentage had dropped to 10%, largely replaced by tea grown in India (50%) and Ceylon (33%).

However, consumption of tea within India remained low until an aggressive promotional campaign by the (British-owned) Indian Tea Association in the early 20th century, which encouraged factories, mines, and textile mills to provide tea breaks for their workers. It also supported many independent chai wallahs throughout the growing railway system.

The official promotion of chai tea was as served in the English mode, with small added amounts of milk and sugar. The Indian Tea Association initially disapproved of independent vendors’ tendency to add spices and greatly increase the proportions of milk and sugar, thus reducing their usage (and thus purchases) of tea leaves per liquid volume. However, masala chai in its present form has now firmly established itself as a popular beverage, not just outlasting the British Raj but spreading beyond South Asia to the rest of the world.

Many coffeehouses are now selling chai tea or chai lattes, but what is chai exactly? In many countries, chai is actually the word for tea. In the U.S., chai has become synonymous with masala chai, which is a beverage from the Indian subcontinent made by brewing tea with a mixture of spices and herbs. There is no set recipe for chai, but the spices usually consist of cinnamon, cardamon, cloves, pepper and ginger. Chai is usually served hot and sweet; the sweetness helps bring out the full flavors of the spices.

Chai tea can be brewed with black tea, the aforementioned spices, milk and sugar. It can also be found in prepackaged tea bags that are ready to brew. It’s also available as loose leaf and can be brewed with the help of a tea strainer. No matter how you drink chai, you’re sure to enjoy its sweet, distinct flavor – try a cup today!