The word “Chai” is an English mispronunciation of the Chinese term “Cha” which is a generic word for tea used in certain Asian countries.

Chai tea as westerners know it refers to a sweetened spiced tea concoction with milk initially made popular in the Masala region of India. It was originally born out of the economic thriftiness of the Indian local vendors serving tea to British colonists to stretch available tea reserves by adding larger amounts of spices milk and sugar to tea then the English were used to in their tea consumption. Even though the beverage wasn’t as widely consumed among the English visitors, the popularity of chai tea has spread worldwide.

Since there isn’t a standard recipe for chai tea, mixtures and strengths differ from region to region. It is known that families in the same region can create the beverage from very different ingredients. Even with the differences, the four main components of chai tea, tea, spices, sweetener and milk are fundamentally the same for all versions of the recipe.

The tea component of the drink is usually made from some sort of strong black tea.  Milk is another necessary ingredient; however the varieties can range from whole, low fat and fat free, as well as rice, almond and soy milk. White sugar is often used for sweetener, but raw sugar and even honey are suitable replacements.

The item that is most varied among modern chai recipes are the many spices included. Cardamom is the primary spice and probably responsible for the flavor characteristic of chai tea. Other spices commonly used are cinnamon, pepper, ginger, cloves, rose, nutmeg, or licorice.