chai

Chai

Chai
Origin
Place of origin	India
Region or state	Indian subcontinent
Dish details
Main ingredient(s)	Tea, milk

Masala chai (Hindi मसाला चाय: masālā cāy, "spiced tea") is a beverage from the Indian subcontinent made by brewing tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices and herbs.^[1] By itself, chai is merely the generic word for tea in Hindi and many other languages around the world, but for many English speakers outside those regions, particularly in the Western hemisphere, "chai" automatically implies "masala chai". Conversely however "chai" or "cha" is also British slang, referring to tea.

Terminology

Plain chai

Chai (Hindi: चाय, Urdu: چاۓ) is the word for "tea" in much of South Asia and many other parts of the world.^[2] For the etymology of chai and related words see Etymology and cognates of tea.

Although coffee is a more popular beverage in some southern parts of India, chai is ubiquitous throughout South Asia, where street vendors called "chai wallahs" (sometimes spelled "chaiwalas") are a common sight. Chai is also a popular item in the genre of South Asian restaurants known as Irani cafés or Chai Khanas.

The traditional chai-brewing process actively boils the tea leaves over sustained heat. Chai prepared in this manner has a caffeine level higher than most teas^{[citation needed]}, as the prolonged boiling produces a more robust beverage than quiescently steeping the tea leaves in hot (but not boiling) water. For more information about international preparation methods and consumption patterns, see Tea culture.

Spiced tea

For many English speakers outside those regions, the term "chai" is synonymous with masala chai, as further described below. The tautological term chai tea is sometimes used to indicate spiced milky tea as distinct from other types of tea. Numerous coffee houses use the term chai latte for their version to indicate that the steamed milk of a normal cafe latte is being flavored with a spiced tea concentrate instead of with espresso. Some coffeehouses and brand names refer to their product as chai tea latte, although a chai tea latte that features both espresso and spiced tea is sometimes known as a dirty chai^[3].

Traditional masala chai

History

Tea plants have grown wild in the Assam region since antiquity, but historically South Asians viewed tea as an herbal medicine rather than as a recreational beverage. Some of the chai masala spice mixtures still in current use are 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 began to cultivate tea plantations locally. In 1870, over 90% of the tea consumed in Great Britain was still of Chinese origin, but by 1900 this 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 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, not just outlasting the British Raj but spreading beyond South Asia to the rest of the world.^[4]

Preparation

The simplest traditional method of preparing masala chai is to actively simmer or boil 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 चाय मसाला [chāy masālā], "tea spice" ) for this purpose, though many households 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).

Ingredients

A boy in Mysore, India preparing masala chai

There is no fixed recipe or preparation method for masala chai and many families have their own versions of the tea. The tea leaves (or tea dust) steep in the hot water long enough to extract intense flavor, 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 the following four basic components:

Tea

The base tea is usually a strong black tea such as Assam, so that the spices and sweeteners do not overpower it. 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.

Sweetener

Plain white sugar is sufficient, although individual tastes may favour the caramelised notes from Demarara, other brown sugars, palm or coconut sugars, or the more complex slight acidity of honey. Jaggery is also used as a sweetener, mostly in rural parts of India. A surprisingly large quantity of sugar may be required to bring out the flavour of the spices; one recipe uses three tablespoons of sugar in 3 1/2 cups of chai. Condensed milk can also be added as a dual-purpose sweetener and dairy addition.

Milk

Usually, whole milk is used for its richness. Generally, masala chai is made by mixing 1/4 to 1/2 parts milk with water and heating the liquid to near-boiling or even full boiling. As previously mentioned, some people like to use condensed milk in their masala chai to double as the sweetener.

Spices and cut tea leaves

Spices

The traditional masala chai is a bracing, strongly spiced beverage brewed with so-called "warm" spices. Most masala chai incorporates one or more of the following: cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, peppercorn, and cloves.

Traditionally, cardamom is a dominant note. Indian masala mixtures and cuisine also commonly use other spices such as cloves, ginger, or black pepper; the latter two add a pleasantly piquant flavour. In India, for example, fresh ginger is usually used.

However, in Western India, star anise, black pepper and cinnamon are expressly avoided.^{[citation needed]} The Kashmiri version of chai is brewed with green tea instead of black tea and has a more subtle blend of flavorings: almonds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and sometimes saffron.

Other possible ingredients include nutmeg, rose flavouring (where rose petals are boiled along with the loose-leaf tea), or liquorice root.

Masala chai outside South Asia

As the popularity of masala chai has spread around the world, the nature of the beverage has changed in various ways beyond the redundant terminology noted above. Its original form remains available in restaurants that serve South Asian cuisine, but outside those venues, many Westerners are just as likely to consume their "chai" as a slushy iced beverage resembling a milkshake as to drink it as hot spiced tea.

Preparation

Tea-based mixes/concentrates

Liquid "chai concentrates" have become very popular for their convenience, as these spiced, sweetened tea-based syrups merely require dilution with milk, water, or both to create a flavorful hot or cold beverage. Most coffeehouse chains use commercial liquid concentrates instead of brewing their own chai from scratch. Dry powdered or granular mixes similar to instant coffee are also commercially available.

Both dry instant mixes and liquid concentrates can be replicated at home. A liquid concentrate can be made by brewing an unusually concentrated pot of highly spiced tea, so that the dilution of a small amount into a cup of hot water or a glass of cold milk results in roughly the same concentration of tea as in a normally-proportioned brew; e.g., to make a syrup from which one ounce suffices to make one eight-ounce cup of normal chai when diluted, brew tea (and the proportional quantity of spices) at eight times normal concentration.

Similarly, unsweetened iced-tea powder can be tailored to individual taste with powdered spices, sugar, and (if desired for convenience and mouthfeel) dry nonfat milk and dry non-dairy creamer; the result can be mixed with hot water to produce a form of instant chai masala. This form of dry mix has certain disadvantages, however: the powdered spices may leave an unpleasant grainy residue at the bottom of the cup, and it may dissolve poorly in cold water, especially in the presence of dry milk/creamer powders.

Other chai shortcuts

Many Western supermarkets now sell pre-packaged single-serving teabags of "chai". The packaged directions generally call for steeping the small bag of ground spices and tea leaves/dust in a cup of hot water for several minutes longer than plain teabags, resulting in a beverage which is slightly stronger than the average teabag brew but still not as intense as traditional preparations.

Some American supermarkets also carry bottles of "chai spice" alongside their dried herbs and other spices. Unlike Indian spice mixtures, the American ones are generally made from powdered spices (cinnamon tends to be the dominant flavor) and sometimes sugar; this mixture can be added at the last minute to an already-brewed cup of tea as there is no need (or way) to strain off the solids.

Cold "chai"

As an alternative to the hot tea format, several types of cold "chai" beverages have become popular in the United States. These range in complexity from a simple spiced iced tea without milk to a slush of spiced tea, ice, and milk (or non-dairy creamer) mixed in a blender and topped with whipped cream. This latter combination is known as a chai frappuccino blended crème at Starbucks or a blended chai latte at It's a Grind Coffee House or other coffee houses.

Components

Many Western commercial preparations such as Oregon Chai use non-traditional ingredients such as vanilla or chocolate, relegating the traditional masala spices to a relatively minor role. A company in the UK called ChaiChai produces versions of chai made with loose leaf tea, using flavours such as chocolate and vanilla while keeping the traditional spices otherwise intact.

During the Christmas season, a quick chai fix can be made by combining plain tea with eggnog as a convenient pre-spiced, pre-sweetened dairy product.

Non-tea-based variants may be prepared with herbal tisanes such as rooibos, or with the South American beverage yerba mate.

Some American coffeehouses offer a version of masala chai augmented with espresso, but this beverage does not have any one universally recognized name. Depending on the establishment, it may be called "java chai", "red eye chai", "chai charger", "tough guy chai", "dirty chai", or many other different names. However, despite the common tendency in many countries to use the term "latte" to mean "cafe latte", the term "chai latte" does not generally imply the presence of coffee in the beverage; see the Spiced tea terminology above.

References

External links

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Wikibooks' Cookbook has more about this subject:

Masala Chai

• How to Make Chai Tea - a recipe from WikiHow
• Preparation of chai over a twig fire on YouTube
• CHAL CHAI PI KE AATE HAI!
• Recipe for making the Tea Masala Powder at home.
• Kashmiri Chai Tea Recipe