A Brief History of Chai
In a world all its own, Chai is a unique, delicious and culturally significant beverage from India that has become widely popular in the Western World.
Chai, or Masala Chai is the national beverage of the Asian subcontinent of India and it is woven throughout their culture. In fact, Chai literally means tea in India, originating from the Hindi word Chai, which was derived from the Chinese word for tea, cha. While we in North America refer to the spicy and sweet black tea drink as just Chai, it is commonly referred to as Masala Chai in India. But how did Chai come to be the most popular drink in India?
There are many tales and legends as to how chai came to be and its earliest forms did not contain tea at all, just herbs and spices. Tea would be added later. An early legend is that a monk traveling to China over 5000 years ago noticed the locals chewing on the leaves of a bush and discovered its energetic properties. Another legend has it that it was a king in ancient India (most likely Harshavardhana) who developed chai to remain alert during long hours in court. Some believe that it was Emperor Ashoka who introduced chai into his court ceremonies. The commonality through these legends is that early chai was seen as a cleansing, stimulating Ayurvedic beverage.
During the late 18th century England wanted to free itself from China’s monopoly on tea exports and create their own tea industry. Through espionage and daring theft in the early 19th century, Robert Fortune and other botanists stole tea plants, seeds and seedlings along with cultivation and processing secrets to start their own tea production in India. While tea already grew in the wild in some regions of India, it was not cultivated and not a common drink of the Indian people. English tea production became successful and widespread in the mid 1800s but the vast majority of tea was exported and locally it was only consumed by the English colonizers. The Indian people associated tea with colonization and were appalled at the difficult working conditions of the tea laborers and refused to adopt the beverage.
It was a global economic depression in the early 1900s that changed the way tea was received in India. Exports slowed and there was an overabundance of tea that needed a market and tea producers turned their eyes to the upper and middle classes of Indian society. It began to find popularity and slowly spread throughout the country. Tea shops and stalls were starting to pop up in larger cities like Mumbai and Dehli. By the great depression of the 1930’s there was such a surplus that all walks of life in India were drinking tea.
Since tea was introduced by the English, Indians adopted their way of drinking it with milk and sugar. Over time, Indians moved away from steeping tea in hot water, preferring to boil it in water and milk and due to its increased strength, spices and greater amounts of sugar were added and Masala Chai was born. While English tea was evolving into Indian chai, the growing movement for independence was taking hold in 1940s India. Tea, once view as an imperialist drink became a symbol of Indian unity and freedom. Chai was now an Indian drink.
As with all nationally popular foods and beverages, chai has many regional variations and unique family recipes. What makes chai chai though are these common seven ingredients: water, tea leaves, milk, sugar, cardamom, black pepper, and ginger. The spice mixture is called Karah and cardamom and ginger are the defining spice notes found in basically all chai. Other spices such as cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds, peppercorn, nutmeg and cloves can all be added to some degree to make a distinctive version.
The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse and The Boulder Tea Company have been proudly making chai for over thirty years under the guidance and watchful eye of our co-founder, Lenny Martinelli and take seriously the traditions and honor that goes into creating this beloved beverage. Lenny has traveled extensively in India and studied the intricacies of techniques and ingredients that go into making a fine chai. Our Teahouse Chai is a signature beverage and it is made daily with love and care.