Chai Tea
–
The Indian Blend

Are you looking for a tasty cleansing black tea blend?

Have you ever tasted Chai Tea? If so, then you have already come across the answer and didn’t know it. It will take you all the way to colonial India and then back again.

Chai is a full bodied Indian blend with a soothing and aromatic fragrance. It stands out for its peculiar character: black tea leaves steeped in milk, combined with strong flavourful spices and sweeteners.

Curious about such a complex tea? Join us on this new adventure and let’s discover how this amazing cleansing tea found its way to the world.

Origin of Chai

Let’s begin with the name of this tea. The word Chai actually means tea in Hindi and Russian, which is why this tea is also known as masala chai, a more proper term that means spice blend.

This tea has been delighting people around the world for more than 5,000 years. First considered an Ayurvedic tonic, this medicinal tea was, according to a legend, created by a king in an Indian or Siamese court.

Tea plants have grown wild in Assam since Antiquity, but, back then, tea was only drunk strictly for medicinal reasons. When the British East India Company discovered the camellia assamica tea plants, they started cultivating tea plantations locally for the British market.

So by the year 1900, the tea consumed in Great Britain was mostly from India and Ceylon. Most black teas leaves produced from the camellia assamica plant were steeped into a unique and tasty masala chai recipe.

Nowadays, there are many variations according to the region, each one offering not only an amazing experience, but also tremendous health benefits.

However, despite producing such high amounts of tea, tea consumption in India was in fact low at the time.

Therefore, in an attempt to stimulate tea drinking within the Indian society, the British Indian Tea Association encouraged factories, mines and textiles mills to have tea breaks for their workers.

Little by little, tea became a part of the Indian daily life and it is now a key element of this culture that you can now find spread throughout the world. Chai tea is an Indian everyday drink and it is common for Indians to delight themselves with 4 cups of it per day.

In almost every street corner or even office you will find the chai wallah, chai vendors, who incarnate perfectly this tradition and ritual.

They prepare this rich chai over an open fire in small stands and stalls and serve it in clay tea cups called chullarhs or kullarhs. Once emptied, the cups are thrown on to the ground and shattered.

Remember the movie Slumdog Millionaire? The main character Jamal K. Malik (played by Dev Patel) was a chai wallah for an Indian support center in Mumbai.

Chai Tea – A World of Pleasure in Your Cup

Now, close your eyes and imagine yourself drinking this amazing tea. Take a deep breath and relax. With each cup, imagine further that a famous chai wallah has been preparing this cup of masala chai, just for you.

Drink it and savour each ingredient, each spice and enjoy the amazing benefits of chai tea floating inside you!

Perfect, isn’t it? Well you can prepare it yourself! This may be the right tea for you, to give you the strength and energy during the day and to take you on an amazing ride through the world of Indian tea.

Let’s prepare it together! Have a look at our Chai Tea recipe and get your ingredients ready! If you are planning on hosting a tea party this is a great tea to surprise your friends!

Click on the image or on the link below to purchase from Art of Tea your Tali's Masala Chai Tea.

This is a blend of glorious Assam tea with a number of spices: cardamom, cinnamon and ginger.

Infuse this tea for 3 to 5 minutes in boiling water. You can drink it just as it is or add milk for a more authentic Chai experience.

Click on the image or on the link below to purchase Bold Black Chai from Republic of Tea.

This particular chai is a blend of Assam leaves infused with warming spices: organic cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove and a hint of black pepper.

This black chai tea is meant to be taken with milk to help you wake up in the morning and revive your energy levels in the afternoon.

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”In the Taste of a single cup of tea you will eventually discover the truth of all the ten thousand forms in the universe.”
- Attributed to Kyongbong Sunim, Ch'an (Zen) Master

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