Masala chai

Masala chai (/tʃaɪ/; Hindi: मसाला चाय, literally "mixed-spice tea"; Urdu: مصالحہ چائے‎; Nepali: मसलेदार चिया; Bengali: মসলা চা) is a flavoured tea beverage made by brewing black tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices and herbs. Originating in India, the beverage has gained worldwide popularity, becoming a feature in many coffee and tea houses. Although traditionally prepared by a decoction of green cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, ground ginger, and black peppercorn together with black tea leaves, retail versions include tea bags for infusion, instant powdered mixtures, and concentrates. In some places the term "chai," alone, can refer to the beverage.

Etymology and terminology

In many Eurasian languages, chai or cha is the word for tea. This comes from the Persian چای chay, which originated from the Chinese word for tea 茶 chá. (The English word tea, on the other hand, comes from the Teochew dialect of Chinese teeh.) In English, this spiced tea is commonly referred to as masala chai or simply chai, even though the term refers to tea in general in the origin language. Numerous United States coffee houses use the term chai latte or chai tea latte for their version to indicate that the steamed milk, much like a regular cafè latte, is mixed with a spiced tea concentrate instead of espresso. By 1994 the term had gained currency on the U.S. coffeehouse scene.