Chai Tea
WHAT IS CHAI TEA? The name “chai” comes from the Hindi word for “tea”, which itself is derived from “cha”, the Chinese word for “tea”. In this case, the Hindi term chai refers to a mix of spices steeped into a tea-based beverage. Traditional chai tea features black tea blended with strong spices.Such as Read more >
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Four O’Clock Organic Chai Herbal Tea Chocolate Spice is a rich and comforting caffeine-free blend inspired by traditional Mexican hot chocolate. After dozens of trials, Four O’Clock created the perfect balance of chocolatey, sweet, floral, and warming spice notes. Smooth and indulgent, this herbal tea is especially delicious prepared as a creamy latte. Made with organic ingredients and natural ...
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Four O’Clock Organic Chai Latte Espresso blends the bold character of coffee with the comforting warmth of chai spices for a truly distinctive beverage. Organic Indian black tea, rich espresso, and aromatic spices come together to create a smooth and spicy latte-style drink with a balanced caffeine boost. Enjoy it hot with milk for a café-inspired experience at home. Made with organic ingredien...
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Harmonic Arts Chai Spice Herbal Artisan Tea is a warming, caffeine-free blend inspired by traditional Indian masala. Handcrafted on Vancouver Island with organic and wild-harvested ingredients, this loose-leaf tea combines cinnamon, fennel seeds, ginger root, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, and a touch of vanilla. Fragrant, creamy, and mildly spiced, Chai Spice offers a comforting, aromatic experienc...
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M21 Luxury Tea Strawberry Tea is a smooth and fruity black tea blend infused with the sweet flavour of ripe strawberries for a refreshing and uplifting tea experience. Crafted with premium high-altitude black tea and natural strawberry flavour, this balanced blend offers a rich aroma and bright berry finish with medium caffeine content. Perfect for everyday enjoyment, it can be enjoyed hot or i...
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Mate Factors Yerba Mate in Cardamom Chai is a premium 100% certified organic tea that uses unbleached tea bags. This blend is dried using a low heating process to protect the natural enzymes of yerba mate, which not only protects the integrity of the plant but enhances its natural flavour and keeps it from having a smokey flavour that many other yerba mate’s have. Cardamom Chai uses a ble...
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This is an organic rich, spicy and sultry tea from Numi Tea that’s high in caffeine and serves richness after steeping for 4-5 minutes. Numi’s Golden Chai is a traditional Indian treasure. They blend organic hearty Assam black tea with organic cinnamon, cardamom and ginger for a rich and spicy tea. Numi Teas Assam black tea comes from Tonganagaon, the largest organic Fair Trade tea estate in In...
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Sweet and spicy, Organic Rooibos Chai Herbal Tea from Numi contains no caffeine, ideal for later in the day or those sensitive to caffeine. Numi infuses mellow rooibos with warming spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardamom for a sweet release. This sultry, caffeine-free chai is the perfect after-dinner treat. Also called “red tea,” rooibos has a deep, earthy vanilla taste, and is known...
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Chai Green Tea from Stash Tea is a highly unique tasting chai tea. Chai Tea is typically made using black tea but Stash Tea decided to try it with green tea instead! The bold flavours of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger root and sarsaparilla blended perfectly with the flavour of green tea leaves for a whole new Chai experience that you are sure to love. Stash Tea sources only the best ingredi...
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Chai Spice Tea from Stash Tea is a warming blend of black teas with bold spices. The bold flavours of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger root and allspice blended perfectly with the flavour of black teas, Chai Spice Tea has a slightly sweet but strong flavour. Stash Tea sources only the best ingredients from around the world and makes every tea bag from sustainable, unbleached natural fiber and...
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Chai Spice Tea from Stash Tea is a warming blend of black teas with bold spices. The bold flavours of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger root and allspice blended perfectly with the flavour of black teas, Chai Spice Tea has a slightly sweet but strong flavour. Stash Tea sources only the best ingredients from around the world and makes every tea bag from sustainable, unbleached natural fiber and...
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Chai Spice Decaf Tea from Stash Tea is a warming blend of decaffeinated black teas with bold spices. The bold flavours of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger root and allspice blended perfectly with the flavour of decaffeinated black teas, Chai Spice Tea has a slightly sweet but strong flavour. Stash Tea sources only the best ingredients from around the world and makes every tea bag from sustain...
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Chai Spice Decaf Tea from Stash Tea is a warming blend of decaffeinated black teas with bold spices. The bold flavours of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger root and allspice blended perfectly with the flavour of decaffeinated black teas, Chai Spice Tea has a slightly sweet but strong flavour. Stash Tea sources only the best ingredients from around the world and makes every tea bag from sustain...
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Decaf Vanilla Chai Tea from Stash Tea is a warming blend of decaffeinated black teas with bold spices. The bold flavours of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger root and allspice blended perfectly with the flavour of black teas, with a hint of vanilla for those that like it a little sweeter. Stash Tea sources only the best ingredients from around the world and makes every tea bag from sustainable...
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Decaf Vanilla Chai Tea from Stash Tea is a warming blend of decaffeinated black teas with bold spices. The bold flavours of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger root and allspice blended perfectly with the flavour of black teas, with a hint of vanilla for those that like it a little sweeter. Stash Tea sources only the best ingredients from around the world and makes every tea bag from sustainable...
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Double the spice, double the flavour. Double Chai Spice Tea from Stash Tea is a warming blend of black teas with bold spices. The bold flavours of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger root and allspice blended perfectly with the flavour of black teas, Double Chai Spice Tea has a slightly sweet but strong flavour and is the perfect addition to your tea stash. Stash Tea sources only the best ingred...
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Stash Tea's Holiday Chai is a festive chai with warm gingerbread and sweet rum flavours. This joyful blend combines black teas with cinnamon, allspice, clove, ginger root, gingerbread flavour, Jamaican rum flavour and nutmeg oil for a well deserved and welcomed boost of energy. Holiday Chai can also be added to other holiday drinks and even baking! Stash Tea sources only the best ingredients fr...
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Stash Tea's Holiday Chai is a festive chai with warm gingerbread and sweet rum flavours. This joyful blend combines black teas with cinnamon, allspice, clove, ginger root, gingerbread flavour, Jamaican rum flavour and nutmeg oil for a well deserved and welcomed boost of energy. Holiday Chai can also be added to other holiday drinks and even baking! Stash Tea sources only the best ingredients fr...
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Stash Tea's Spice Dragon Red Chai is a uniquely sweet and spicy chai. The delightful bold blend of sweet chai spices mixed with South African rooibos, Spice Dragon Red Chai Tea surprises your taste buds with both the smell and flavour of this tea. Stash Tea sources only the best ingredients from around the world and makes every tea bag from sustainable, unbleached natural fiber and GMO-free cot...
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Two Hill Tea (Heicha) Fermented Spiced Chai is loaded with organic spices for those who like a little kick to their brew, there's nothing quite like it to keep you cozy. This style of fermented black tea (heicha) has been indispensable in the diet of the nomadic peoples of Tibet and Mongolia for generations. It is fermented with naturally occurring Eurotium cristatum, the "golden flora" on the ...
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This delicious chai flavoured organic matcha chia mix from Two Hills Tea is a perfect option for those who are new to matcha or prefer their drinks on the sweeter side. It’s easy to make, simply add 2 tablespoons and one cup of milk (hot or iced) into a thermos or shaker bottle of your choosing. Shake for 15 seconds, serve and enjoy. This tea combines the rich Matcha flavour we all love with th...
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What Makes a Great Chai Tea?
The name “chai” comes from the Hindi word for “tea”, which itself is derived from “cha”, the Chinese word for “tea”. In this case, the Hindi term chai refers to a mix of spices steeped into a tea-based beverage. Traditional chai tea features black tea blended with strong spices, such as:
Cinnamon: sweet and woody flavour, with a slight citrusy note, and spicy taste.
Cardamom: a warm and fragrant cross between eucalyptus, mint, and pepper—more
citrusy than fennel and sweeter than cumin.
Cloves: an intensely aromatic spice with a subtly sweet flavour that lends plenty of warmth to your chai tea.
Ginger: hot, zesty, and biting flavour, with a slightly peppery, sweet, and spicy aroma.
Star anise: very strong, distinct flavour that is warm, sweet, and spicy, similar to licorice.
Fennel: warm and sweet flavour that is reminiscent of aniseed and licorice, with sweet, yet somewhat spicy and peppery aroma.
Black peppercorns: pungent and aromatic, with a spicy, woody, warm, and herbaceous flavour.
While Chai Tea has steadily been gaining in popularity in North America over the last couple of decades, it dates back more than 5,000 years, when it was used in Ayurveda as a healing tea. Today chai tea is a staple in many coffee and tea houses; however, the quality of these versions of chai is often a far cry from the original Indian Masala Chai. This is why, if you aren’t making your own chai, and prefer a pre-made option, pay attention to the ingredients panel of the product you’re considering. Look for one that uses organic black tea and spices to impart the brew with its characteristic warm earthy balanced tones of ginger, and clove, and sweet notes of cardamom, cinnamon, and fennel. Also, steer clear of teas featuring any added flavours or sweeteners, especially anything artificial.
Chai tea - taste, texture, aroma
The wide variety of chai recipes means the brew can take on many different flavour profiles depending on the ingredients used. For instance, chai that uses a lot of ginger and black peppercorns can have a fiery bite, while those that feature more vanilla, cinnamon, or nutmeg will impart a sweeter note. Likewise, a chai tea that relies more heavily on fennel or cumin will have a savory flavour, and those that incorporate saffron or cacao will have a little more of an earthy, bitter quality. A perfect chai tea should strike the perfect balance of smooth, creamy, spicy, as well as strong and sweet, but the spices should never overshadow the flavour of the black tea itself. Regardless of your spice blend, by and large, all chai teas deliver a bold flavour that is strong enough for even the hardiest of palettes.
Brewing a perfect cup of chai tea
Chai can be prepared with water alone, a mixture of water and milk, or milk alone, depending on your particular preference. In India chai is traditionally made with water buffalo milk – one part milk to 2 to 4 parts water, which is then heated to the boiling point. In North America, we tend to prepare our chai with regular milk, or oat, almond, soy, cashew, or any other vegan milk, and honey is also typically added. Sometimes chai is blended with sweetened condensed milk for extra sweetness (a nice dessert once in a while!).
Making chai from scratch isn't difficult, but it does take some time. The traditional brewing method involves grinding spices by hand with a mortar and pestle to obtain the best flavour. You then combine the ground spices, into your milk of choice, and water in a saucepan over high heat, and bring to a rolling boil. Once the liquid reaches 212 F, you remove it from the heat and add the black tea (either loose-leaf or tea bags). The saucepan should then be covered and the tea left to steep for 10 minutes. Use a fine-mesh strainer to remove loose leaves from the tea concentrate, and enjoy!
Active Compounds in Chai Tea
- Caffeine – The caffeine content in chai tea is considerably less than that in coffee, and contributes to the beverages flavour profile; lending acidity, astringency, and bitterness. Caffeine is well known to confer certain health benefits such as helping to lift mood, and improving attention, alertness, processing speed, reaction time, and mental performance.
- Flavonoids – Potent antioxidants which impart chai tea with much of its creamy texture, and smooth mouthfeel. Flavonoids have been shown to boost the body’s antioxidant defences, as well as can aid weight loss, and help maintain stable blood sugar.
- Gallic acid – One of the main phenolic components in black tea, gallic acid is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial. It can help support digestion, cardiovascular health, and cognition.
- Phenolic acids – Aromatic acid compounds with antioxidant properties. They can help control inflammation, promote healthy blood sugar, as well as support healthy aging.
- Tannins – A group bioflavonoids with antioxidant properties. Much like with wine, tannins impart the black tea used in chai with much of its flavour profile: astringency, bitterness, and acidity. Tannins are used to make ellagic acid inside the body, which supports healthy cell growth and division.
- Theanine – An amino acid found in black tea, Theanine, has a slightly savoury taste and is what imparts black tea with its mild umami flavour. Theanine is sold as a standalone supplement because of its ability to help calm the symptoms of stress and anxiety, as well as to support the production of neurotransmitters in the brain
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