There are many tales and legends as to how chai came to be and its earliest forms did not contain tea at all, just herbs and spices. Tea would be added later. An early legend is that a monk traveling to China over 5000 years ago noticed the locals chewing on the leaves of a bush and discovered its energetic properties. Another legend has it that it was a king in ancient India (most likely Harshavardhana) who developed chai to remain alert during long hours in court. Some believe that it was Emperor Ashoka who introduced chai into his court ceremonies. The commonality through these legends is that early chai was seen as a cleansing, stimulating Ayurvedic beverage.
How did Chai come to be the most popular drink in India?
During the late 18th century England wanted to free itself from China’s monopoly on tea exports and create their own tea industry. Through espionage and daring theft in the early 19th century, Robert Fortune and other botanists stole tea plants, seeds and seedlings along with cultivation and processing secrets to start their own tea production in India. While tea already grew in the wild in some regions of India, it was not cultivated and not a common drink of the Indian people. English tea production became successful and widespread in the mid 1800s but the vast majority of tea was exported and locally it was only consumed by the English colonisers. The Indian people associated tea with colonisation and were appalled at the difficult working conditions of the tea labourers and refused to adopt the beverage.
It was a global economic depression in the early 1900s that changed the way tea was received in India. Exports slowed and there was an overabundance of tea that needed a market and tea producers turned their eyes to the upper and middle classes of Indian society.
It began to find popularity and slowly spread throughout the country. Tea shops and stalls were starting to pop up in larger cities like Mumbai and Delhi. By the great depression of the 1930’s there was such a surplus that all walks of life in India were drinking tea.
Since tea was introduced by the English, Indians adopted their way of drinking it with milk and sugar.
Over time, Indians moved away from steeping tea in hot water, preferring to boil it in water and milk and due to its increased strength, spices and greater amounts of sugar were added and Masala Chai was born. While English tea was evolving into Indian chai, the growing movement for independence was taking hold in 1940s India. Tea, once view as an imperialist drink became a symbol of Indian unity and freedom.
Chai was now an Indian drink.
As with all nationally popular foods and beverages, chai has many regional variations and unique family recipes. What makes chai chai though are these common seven ingredients: water, tea leaves, milk, sugar, cardamom, black pepper, and ginger. The spice mixture is called Karah and cardamom and ginger are the defining spice notes found in basically all chai. Other spices such as cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds, peppercorn, nutmeg and cloves can all be added to some degree to make a distinctive version
R TEA have been proudly making chai for everyone to enjoy, with a little bit of twist, while take seriously the traditions and honour that goes into creating this beloved beverage.
I personally enjoyed my chai tea to be sweet & iced cold, so I would add a bit of honey and raw sugar, then I would have it ice cold. It is divine. Check on my preference chai brew below!
Try our new blend of R TEA Instant Chai Latte Powder !
Honey Chai Latte served with Mr. Earl Cookie @ R TEA's Brew Bar.
How To Brew Chai Tea?
Corinna's Brew:
Add 2 heaped teaspoon into a pot, add 250ml of preference milk, boil & stir on low heat. Strain on to the tea cup to enjoy hot. Strain into jug, add honey and raw sugar. To enjoy it cold, cool down first or add heaps of ice (if it's hot & you can't wait), give a good stir until it's cold, put it into favourite glass, enjoy!
Traditional Chai Method:
Bring 250ml of fresh spring water to the boil and add 4 teaspoon of chai tea, brew for 4 minutes.
On the stove, heat 250ml of milk of your choice on low heat.
Once brewed, add your tea infused water to the milk (tea leaves, don't strain it yet)
let it simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. If you like, add honey or sugar. Enjoy!