Masala chai

Masala chai (, ; Urdu: मसाला चाय) is an Indian tea beverage made by boiling black tea in milk and water with a mixture of aromatic herbs and spices. Originating in India the beverage has gained worldwide popularity, becoming a feature in many coffee and tea houses.

The term ''chai'' originated from the Hindi word ''chai'', which was derived from the Chinese word for tea, . In English, this spiced tea is commonly referred to as ''masala chai'', or simply ''chai'', even though the term refers to tea in general in the original language. According to stories, it originates from thousands of years ago in now modern India and said that the king created masala chai as an Ayurvedic beverage - a blend of herbs and spices to drink for healing purposes. Chai has become a popularized item in western culture, with numerous coffee houses using the term chai latte or chai tea latte for their version to indicate that it is made with steamed milk, much like that used to make a caffè latte, but mixed with a spiced tea concentrate instead of espresso. By 1994, the term had gained currency on the U.S. coffeehouse scene.

Ingredients

Tea

Black tea is typically used as base in most chai recipes. The most common type of black tea is Assam; however, a blend of different tea variations may be used. Assam, Darjeeling, and Nilgiri are the three most common types of tea used in chai in India.

Spices

The traditional masala chai is a spiced beverage brewed with different proportions of warming spices. The spice mixture, called karha, uses a base of ground ginger and green cardamom pods. Other spices are usually added to this ''karha'' including one or more of cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds, peppercorn, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom seeds, ginger root, honey, vanilla, and other spices. In the Western world, using allspice, to either replace or complement the cinnamon and clove, is also common.

Traditionally, cardamom and ginger are the dominant notes, supplemented by other spices such as cloves, or black pepper; the latter two add a heat to the flavour and the utilization of cloves is more typical and popular throughout India. The traditional composition of spices often differs by climate and region in Southern and Southwestern Asia.

For example, in Western India, cloves and black pepper are expressly avoided, and lemongrass is also often included. The Kashmiri version of ''chai'' is brewed with green tea instead of black tea and has a more subtle blend of flavourings: almonds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and sometimes saffron. In Bhopal, typically, a pinch of salt is added.

Other possible ingredients include nutmeg, mace, black cardamom, chilli, coriander, rose flavouring (where rose petals are boiled along with the loose-leaf tea), or liquorice root. A small amount of cumin