by Andrea D. Hutchinson

Created on: August 02, 2009   Last Updated: August 07, 2009

The history of Chai, India's favorite beverage, lies in Ayurveda, an ancient Hindu healing system. Ayurveda brews Chai with herbs, spices, milk and natural sweeteners to cure minor ailments of the body. Chai is consumed from morning until night in India, and is far more popular than coffee among the Indian people.

Chai is purported to be a regenerative and cleansing drink that assists one's digestive system. Potent in antioxidant properties, Chai, is also attributed with the ability of regulating high cholesterol and blood pressure, when consumed regularly. It has even been identified as a weapon against cancer.

Chai's history is said to be over 5,000 years old, with some sources stating 9,000 years. The legend goes that a king in the ancient courts of India, some say Siam, created Chai and protected the recipe as one of his richest treasures. A romantic notion. However, in reality, the roots of Chai's history remain in Ayurveda.

So what exactly is the secret of Chai ?

Basically, Chai is the Hindi term for tea. It is typically a black tea grown in the Assam region of India. Grown at sea level, Chai, or tea, is known for it's bold body, brisk flavor and strong, bright color.

Historically, Assam, a commercial tea region, is only second to China. In the 1830s the British brought the Camellia sinensis plant over to Assam, India, after loosing it's China tea trade agreement. India was already rich with it's native tea plants in Assam. Soon after bringing the Chinese Camellia sinensis plant over to India, the British found that the Indian version was better suited to the region. The two plants were crossed creating a vigorous hybrid tea with a vibrant flavor. This crossing of the two types of tea tree plants is said to have been the most important evolution in the tea industry.

When we westerners refer to Chai tea here in our hemisphere of the world, we are simply being redundant, saying Tea Tea. Chai is a sweet and soothing milky tea, enjoyed throughout the day, in all of India. The Indian people's favorite drink is consumed in their country, on the same level that America enjoys her steaming cup of coffee.

What we westerners refer to as Chai Tea is actually Masala Chai, the Hindi name for spiced tea. Masala are the traditional spices used in the Ayurveda healing system. Traditional Masala Chai is a mixture of sweet and savory spices. Cardamom, the base spice, star anise, cloves, fennel, ginger and peppercorn. Also typically used are saffron

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