Chai (written चाय in Hindi) is an Indian term for tea from India. Chai (pronounced like ch + eye) is actually a generic word for tea in many South Asian countries, and also in Swahili, an Eastern African language, where it was brought by Indian merchants. True Chai, however comes from India where it is said that a king invented the drink over 5000 years ago and kept Chai's secret recipe as a national treasure. In USA more people refer to Indian tea as Chai Tea, which sounds funny if you consider that Chai means Tea. But nevertheless in India prepared Chai is sold in many varieties the most famous being "Masala" (मसाला), which is the Hindi word for spice.
Chai is incredibly popular in India, even more popular than coffee is in the United States. Chai is also a relatively popular beverage in coffeehouses in other countries.
There is no fixed recipe or preparation method for masala chai tea. In fact, many families in India have their own special versions of the tea. Due to the huge range of possible variations, chai can be considered a class of tea rather than a specific kind. But all chai has four basic components:
Tea: The base tea is usually a strong black tea, so that the various spices and sweeteners do not overpower it. However, a wide variety of teas can be and are used to make chai.
Sweetener: Plain white sugar is sufficient, though unprocessed sugar, molasses, honey, and other sweeteners can be used for various flavors.
Chai can be prepared in many ways, but a typical sequence might include boiling the spice mixture with the sweetener, adding tea and milk and bringing back to a boil, and then allowing the tea mixture to steep for several minutes. See the external links for many example chai recipes.
MasalaChai has also become something of a speciality of European Music festivals and underground music events.
Masalachai has strong cultural associations with Psytrance and Goa in particular.
The Masalachai can be prepared by adding one or more of the following spices along with tea leafs: cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, peppercorn, and cloves are some of the most common elements, though masalachai can be made with such varied ingredients as nutmeg, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla or licorice.
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