To sip Masala chai is to taste thousands of years of history. How did this spiced tea blend originate and become the popular beverage it is today?
Masala chai, also known simply as chai, is a Hindi phrase that means “spiced tea.” It’s widely available around the world today, but it is believed to have originated in what is now India, Pakistan or perhaps even Thailand. Some people believe it began as long ago as tea itself, some 5,000 years ago.
Global diffusion
The international spread of tea in general and chai in particular resulted from the trade routes developed during the 300 years of often bloody expansion of the British empire in South Asia and beyond. When the British East India Trading Company began establishing new trade routes in the 1600s, tea from China was one of the most important commodities shipped.
Within two centuries, Britain’s love for tea was firmly established, and in the 1800s, the British East India Company was hard at work developing tea plantations in India. “When the British began propagating tea in India to get an edge on the Chinese tea exports, they likely brought Indian tea customs and recipes to the western world,” said Cynthia Fazekas, master blender with Adagio Teas, an online retailer based in New Jersey, United States.
As people travelled and migrated across an increasingly connected world from the 19th century onward, their food and drinks moved along with them. Different types of tea, chai among them, were introduced in more and more places.
What makes it chai?
Masala chai is characterized by a number of base ingredients, but there is plenty of wiggle room when it comes to labeling a beverage as chai. “The basic ingredients for chai are black tea, milk, and sugar, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves,” said Swadesh Shrestha, owner of Chicago café and restaurant Chiya Chai, a trio of cafes in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. “It is hard to talk about authentic chai. Some like it with lots of ginger. Some like it with more cloves. It is really different household to household.”
Shrestha works to source the tea and spices used in Chiya Chai’s beverages from small farmers and vendors in India and Nepal. “We buy all of the teas from my father, who has been exporting tea since the late 1960s,” he said. Chiya Chai takes an expansive approach to what it defines as chai, offering about 150 different types. The customer can choose the tea base, type of milk, hot or iced, and a variety of unique spice blends and still enjoy a type of spiced tea beverage that merits the name chai.
While there is room for interpretation when considering this beverage, some of the products marketed as chai stretch the definition rather thin. They are sometimes excessively sweet, with so much sugar that it obscures the other flavors. “Sugar should never overpower the spice completely,” said Rose Walters, owner of Aura Chai, an online seller based in Manchester, United Kingdom. Other products, such as certain powdered chais, don’t even include tea as an ingredient.
“Masala chai is complicated to produce properly in large quantities because of the large amount of different ingredients,” Walters said. “I personally feel that chai commercially has unfortunately lost its way and has come far from its origins, becoming something that is really a shadow of what chai really is and what it means.”
Today’s chai market
Chai is consumed on a global scale today. Consumption of the popular beverage has been increasing at a 23% yearly growth rate in the past few years, according to statistics by Foodwise data analytics. Chai is widely available in the U.S, Australia, and Europe, as well as in India and other markets closer to its origins. Cafes and restaurants may brew their chai from scratch, but other form factors tend to be more widely used.
Boxed chai concentrates, like Oregon Chai, Rishi, and Tazo, are a go-to for the many coffee shops that have expanded their menus to include this drink. “There are a lot of boxed chais in the market. Those made chai very popular,” said Shrestha.
Other form factors have carved out their spot in the market as well. “Powders and syrups currently dominate the market,” Walters said. Consumers can also purchase chai tea in bags, sachets, or bottled iterations. Many grocery stores stock a full spectrum of chai preparations.
Ecommerce is a growing venue for chai vendors. Online sales shot up during the Covid-19 pandemic, and specialty tea was one of the categories to benefit. More and more restaurants and cafes offer chai.
But the pandemic made it more difficult for chai businesses to source ingredients. “Because of Covid, a lot of things have changed in the pricing,” said Shrestha of Chiya Chai. Prior to the pandemic, he would travel to Nepal once a year to connect with suppliers. He was only able to make his first trip there in two-and-half years in 2022. His business has had to contend with issues transporting tea and switching to new suppliers. During his latest trip, Shrestha was able to meet some of the new farmers working with Chiya Chai.
The global tea market is projected to grow to a value of $266 billion by 2025 according to Statistica market data. Chai is but one part of this market, but its rising popularity is likely to ensure that this drink remains a lasting part of tea-drinking culture around the world.