What is Masala Chai? | The Origin

Over my two years of tea blogging, most of the chai that I have consumed has been pre-blended and I never took the time to understand the standard ingredients or how to make my own from scratch. My goal for 2021 (as you have probably heard by now) is to learn more about the culture and origin of the teas that I consume. Chai has been vastly integrated into American culture through chai lattes, and Masala chai is considered the most popular form of chai. Therefore, today I am taking a deeper dive into the origin of Masala chai, but I do need a bit of help to do so. I want to start firstly by consulting a few resources that I have around me: the 30 Tea Cultures around the World Class and my good tea friend Tanisha from Chai Struck. I also did additional research which is cited at the bottom of this article.

The Origin

Masala chai has a rich history, developing year by year into the beloved drink we know and love. The earliest record is in the first 500 years in South East Asia where the court of King Harshavardhana drank this tea to stay awake when in court, and also to welcome guests. This could be drunk at any temperature (hot or cold) and was also used medicinally. Back then, it did not actually contain tea leaves and was mostly caffeine-free.

Black tea was introduced to the spiced beverage by the Indian Tea Association, owned…