Masala Chai is spiced milk tea usually sweetened. Originating from India, Chai is widespread with many household and regional variations.

The folklore surrounding Chai dates back to between 5000 and 9000 years ago to an ancient royal court – either India or Siam. It was said that the reigning king created the recipe as a healing Ayurvedic beverage. Throughout the earlier years Chai was prepared via a diverse range of methods and contained an equally diverse array of spices. Between regions the recipes varied and it was served hot and cold as a remedy for minor ailments, but didn’t contain black tea until the 1930’s.

In 1835 the British East India Company established tea plantations in Assam in an attempt to reverse the overwhelming Chinese monopoly on tea supply to Great Britain. In 1870 approximately 90% of tea consumed in Great Britain was supplied by China but by 1900 this had reduced to 10% largely replaced by tea sourced in India and Ceylon.

From the 1830s black tea was gradually assimilating into the existing Chai spice mix and the beginnings of Chai as we know it now emerged. However the tea spice mix lacked appeal due to the high cost of tea and wasn’t popular until the 1900s when a hardcore campaign by the India Tea Company promoted the provision of ‘tea breaks’ for workers in an attempt to increase tea sales.

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  • CommieMisha [she/her,they/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I know chai is a word for a specific kind of tea in the west, but it's also the Russian word for tea, so anytime someone says "Chai Tea", all I hear is "Tea Tea".

      • crime [she/her, any]
        ·
        4 years ago

        my favorite is all of the Rivers Avon on terf island due to the welsh word for river

    • CliffordBigRedDog [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      "Chai" comes from "cha" which is the mandarin (standard chinese ) way of saying tea, so countries that were exposed to tea via land routes (like russia) say chai

      "Tea" comes from "teh" which is the way it is pronounced in southern chinese dialects like Min and Cantonese , so if your country got access to tea via the southern sea ports where those dialects are spoken, you say something similar to "tea"

    • Woly [any]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I love using masala spices in my chai tea.