Masala chai Wikipedia. Masala chai Hindi, literally mixed spice tea Urdu is a flavoured teabeverage made by brewing black tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices, and herbs. Originating in India,123 the beverage has gained worldwide popularity, becoming a feature in many coffee and tea houses. Although traditionally prepared by a decoction of green cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, ground ginger, and black peppercorn together with black tea leaves, retail versions include tea bags for infusion, instant powdered mixtures, and concentrates. The noun chai alone refers to the beverage tea, although some cultures have appropriated it as a loanword to mean masala chai. Etymology and terminologyedit. Unlike many milky teas, which are brewed in water with milk later added, traditional masala chai is often brewed directly in the milk. In many Eurasian languages, chai or cha is the word for tea. This comes from the Persian chay, which originated from the Chinese word for tea ch. The English word tea, on the other hand, comes from the Teochew dialect of Chinese teeh. In English, this spiced tea is commonly referred to as masala chai or simply chai,4 even though the term refers to tea in general in the origin language. Numerous United States coffee houses use the term chai latte or the redundant term chai tea latte for their version to indicate that the steamed milk, much like a regular caf latte, is mixed with a spiced tea concentrate instead of espresso. By 1. 99. 4 the term had gained currency on the U. Masala chai t a Hindi, literally mixedspice tea Urdu is a flavoured tea beverage made by. In a medium saucepan, combine fennel seed, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, ginger root, peppercorns and water. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and steep. Author Kathleen DaelemansSteps 2Difficulty Easyhttp hIDSERP,5203. Chai Tea Starbucks StoreShop Starbucks for sweet, spicy chai tea you can make at home from concentrate, tea bags, full leaf or pods. Discover our great selection of Chai Tea on Amazon. Over 1,400 Chai Tea Great Selection Price Free Shipping on Prime eligible orders. Chai tea is a spicy, pungent drink made from some of the worlds most medicinally active herbs. There are thousands of chai recipes many of which come from India. Chai Direct, home of the chai tea experts Hundreds of specialty chai tea dry mixes and liquid concentrates. Easy ordering, fast, secure checkout, and 5 star customer. We proudly carry chai tea from Big Train Chai, Caffe DAmore Chai, MoCafe Chai, Oregon Chai, and Tipus Chai. From the wellknown, popular Big Train original powdered. Chai Tea' title='Chai Tea' />S. Traditional masala chaiedit. Spices used for Masala chai. HistoryeditTea plants have grown wild in the Assam region since antiquity, but historically Indians viewed tea as a herbal medicine rather than as a recreational beverage. Some of the chai masala spice mixtures, or Karha, that are still in current use are derived from Ayurvedic medical texts. In the 1. 83. 0s, 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 began to cultivate tea plantations locally. In 1. 87. 0, over 9. Great Britain was still of Chinese origin, but by 1. British India 5. British Ceylon 3. However, consumption of black teawithin India remained low until the promotional campaign by the British owned Indian Tea Association in the early 2. It also supported many independent chai wallahs throughout the growing railway system. The official promotion of 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 purchase of tea leaves per liquid volume. However, masala chai in its present form has now firmly established itself as a popular beverage. IngredientseditThere is no fixed recipe or preparation method for masala chai and many families have their own versions of the tea. Most chai contains caffeine typically 13 that of coffee if made with a black tea base. The tea leaves steep in the hot water long enough to extract intense flavour, ideally without releasing the bitter tannins. Because of the large range of possible variations, masala chai can be considered a class of tea rather than a specific kind. However, all masala chai has four basic components milk, sugar, cardamom, and ginger. The base tea is usually a strong black tea such as Assam, so that the spices and sweeteners do not overpower it. Usually, a specific type of Assam is used called mamri. Mamri tea is tea that has been cured in a special way that creates granules as opposed to leaf tea. It is inexpensive and the tea most often used in India. However, a wide variety of teas are used to make chai. Most chai in India is brewed with strong black tea, but Kashmiri chai is brewed with gunpowder tea. Spices and cut tea leaves. The traditional masala chai is a spiced beverage brewed with different proportions of warming spices. The spice mixture, called Karha, uses a base of ground ginger and green cardamom pods. Other spices are usually added to this base or karha. For example, most masala chai found on the street, in restaurants or in homes incorporates one or more of the following along with ginger and cardamom, namely cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds, peppercorn, nutmeg and cloves. In the Western world, using allspice, to either replace or complement the cinnamon and clove, is also common. Traditionally, cardamom is a dominant note, supplemented by other spices such as cloves, ginger, or black pepper the latter two add a heat to the flavour. The traditional composition of spices often differs by climate and region in Southern and Southwestern Asia. For example, in Western India, cloves and black pepper are expressly avoided. The Kashmiri version of chai is brewed with green tea instead of black tea and has a more subtle blend of flavourings almonds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and sometimes saffron. In Bhopal, typically, a pinch of salt is added. Other possible ingredients include nutmeg, mace, black cardamom, chilli, coriander, rose flavouring where rose petals are boiled along with the loose leaf tea, or liquorice root. A small amount of cumin is also preferred, by some people. Greek Yogurt Vs Regular Yogurt. Traditionally in India, water buffalo milk is used to make chai. Outside of India, whole fat cow milk is usually used. Generally, masala chai is made by mixing to parts milk with water and heating the liquid to near boiling or even full boiling. As noted above, some people like to use condensed milk in their masala chai to double as the sweetener. For those who prefer to drink chai without milk, the portion is replaced with water. SweetenereditPlain white sugar, Demerara sugar, other brown sugars, palm or coconut sugars, syrup, or honey is used. Jaggery is also used as a sweetener, mostly in rural parts of India. While some prefer unsweetened chai, some sugar enhances the flavour of the spices. Some recipes use up to three tablespoons of sugar in 3 cups of chai. Condensed milk can also be added as a dual purpose sweetener and dairy addition. Sugar is typically added to suit the drinker. Preparationedit. A boy in Mysore, India preparing masala chai. As chai is prepared by decoction, preparation usually includes straining tea from the solids. The simplest traditional method of preparing masala chai is through decoction, by actively simmering or boiling a mixture of milk and water with loose leaf tea, sweeteners, and whole spices. Indian markets all over the world sell various brands of chai masala, Hindi chy masl, tea spice for this purpose, though many households or tea vendors, known in India as chai wallahs,9 blend their own. The solid tea and spice residues are strained off from masala chai before serving. The method may vary according to taste or local custom for example, some households may combine all of the ingredients together at the start, bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately strain and serve others may leave the mixture simmering for a longer amount of time, or begin by bringing the tea leaves to a boil and only add the spices toward the end or vice versa. A common Maharashtrian practice for preparation of one cup of chai is to first combine one half cup of water with one half cup of milk in a pot over heat. Sugar may be added at this point or after. Ginger is then grated into the mixture followed by adding a tea masala. Although the ingredients may vary from region to region, tea masala typically consists of cardamom powder, cinnamon powder, ground cloves, ginger powder, and pepper powder. Chai Tea Chai Latte. Taste O Meter Ratings. Not sure what to choose We are ready to help We, at chai direct, have rated each chai on three important taste metrics mild to bold, low spice to high spice, sweetness. Once you have tasted one type, you can get a good idea of how the others measure up. Happy tasting Another first from your friends at Chai Direct.