Chai is very popular throughout the world, and a great symbol of Indian culture. But there are many ways to prepare chai. In my own encounters, I have found two main styles of chai, one which uses cardamon and one which uses fennel. Which is your favorite? Do you know other recipes?
One very popular chai in India is to use ginger and infuse it into the tea. This is also known to have medicinal properties and fights many common diseases like coughs and colds. Also, it is quite an experience!
I've never actually made my own, unfortunately! I've had it many times at tea shops though (I just love the spicy taste of it!) and as far as I know it was a cardamom blend. I didn't know that there were varieties with fennel, too - but now I feel like I need to ask more questions next time I order it! I'd be curious to hear from anyone that makes theirs from scratch - if anyone has a tried and true recipe I would love to hear it!
Ginger chai sounds wonderful. I love ginger, and grow it in my garden. I have a huge patch, and it covers all my needs. I will have to try this recipe. And, I can't agree with you more. It is great for one's health. It even wakes you up in the morning and gives you energy all day long.
I haven't even heard for Chai so I googled it of course. As I suspected, without opening this thread first, it is basically a type of tea. Why did I suspected, well in Serbia we use the same word for tea. It is just spelled like this ČAJ because we have a unique alphabet where every letter is only one sound but that is another story completely. Greeks also use the same or similar word for tea. However, I never tried any of this blends and spices in my tea. I understand that it is a black tea with spices and milk and of course sweeteners.
Here in the UK we often use the term "cha" as slang for tea! Obviously, we like to keep our tea simple (not always!) so our main brew uses just tea leaves, but with the important addition of a little milk. I was surprised to find that few cultures use milk in their chai, but I suppose our differences are what make us interesting!
Well, Indian chai, or masala chai, is mainly built on a base of black tea, with milk and spices. I see that the main spices are cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and black peppercorn. Some canbe quite thick, where others have the texture of an espresso. They can be sweet or not. As someone who loves cinnamon, I became a huge fan of the drink.
I honestly do not find the appeal in teas. I really tried it, I really did, but I just couldn't stomach the flavor. I don't know, maybe I prepared it wrong, maybe I let it cool too much or maybe I let the bag in too long, but I really can't find the taste drinkable. I guess it's different for everyone, but then again, it is a really popular drink all over the world and it is the main drink in countless countries, so maybe I'm doing something wrong with it?
I only drink tea that is not blended although many Indians drink tea adding a whole lot of blends. Even the famous companies that market tea have blended tea. One that is considered the best is adding lemon grass. It does give a great flavour. Other users here have already talked of other blends Image source: wikimedia commons
