Chai Tea

Chai tea is a drink of ancient myth and mystery. It is said that the origins of Chai are more than 5000 years old and it is was a King in the Harappan Civilisation (now known as India) who demanded a healing beverage to be used in Ayurveda, a traditional medicinal practice using herbs and spices. Modern understanding shows that spices such as black pepper and ginger helps digestion, and that the antiseptic properties of cloves may help to relive pain. These along with cardamom, cinnamon and star anise help bring other benefits to the blend,  that make an all together enjoyable brew and gives understanding to why the drink spread right across the ancient continent of Asia as a medicinal tonic.

The addition of black tea leaves, milk and sugar were introduced to the  ‘masala chai” or “spiced tea” brew thousands of years later, sometime around the mid-1800s, when the Camellia (sinensis assamica) tea plant was discovered growing in India was cultivated by the British. As the power on the continent at the time and with an insatiable desire for strong black tea with milk and sugar, the popular masala chai  with its medicinal benefits was seen as the perfect brew to enhance.

The Assam and Darjeeling black tea varieties that are native to India were the most readily available and most popular tea to blend as a  chai tea base, and remain a popular aspect of the modern masala chai’s available to drink today. Although it is true to say that there also other Chai teas  to choose from and may include in the blend, green teas, or the South African herb rooibos. The traditional blend that is true to its origins made from spices and containing no tea leaves at all is still available. Offering artisan blends that may be unique to an area or even a village, Spiced or Masala Chai teas remain a favourite of any people across the world, and is enjoyed by many as their choice of drink everyday.