Chai Tea - Benefits, Origin and Simple Recipe
By ytsenoh
Benefits of Chai
If you are a tea lover and you have never introduced yourself to Chai tea, there’s no time like the present. It can be served warm or cold and is good with milk (skim or 2%) because the combination of spices is very appealing to the palette. The smooth flavor includes spices like cloves, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamoms. Cinnamon and ginger aid with your digestive system and cloves has been a calming resource for the stomach. Ginger is a beneficial agent for colds and arthritis.
Compared to coffee which can affect a proper digestion or cause problems with your sleeping routine, chai tea ingredients promote more positive effects.
Origin
Chai tea was being made in India over 3,000 years ago from a combination of tea and spices. Chai means "tea" in Hindi. According to legendary stories, in one of the ancient Indian courts, there was a king who was on a mission to create a healing drink. Whether his concoction actually healed or not may be questionable; however, the ingredients in Chai tea are beneficial to the body.
The antioxidants contained in black tea are supposed to be good in promoting a healthy heart and if antioxidants do help in reducing incidents of cancer, a tea drinker can't go wrong in drinking Chai tea.
Basic Chai Tea Recipe
Collect the spices and tea (see images to the right for ingredients) and boil in 3 cups of water. Once the spices and water are at a rapid boil, put a lid on the saucepan and reduce the heat to a simmer for about five minutes.
Remove from the heat and let the mix sit for 15 minutes. Place back to heat and boil again; then one last time, let the mix sit for 5 minutes.
Strain and add 1 cup whole milk and 2 tablespoons brown sugar stirring for a minute or two over low heat. The sweetness makes the flavor of the spices take a bow. Serves four tea lovers.
WHAT ARE CARDAMOMS?
Cardamoms are green pods containing the cardamom seeds. It can take up to 10 pods to collect almost two teaspoons worth of seeds. It is a more expensive spice. It may be more cost efficient to purchase the seeds. The cardamom is in the same family as ginger.
A benefit of the seeds is that they promote good gum health in the mouth and help in extinguishing bad breath.
 | Amazon Price: $5.11 List Price: $16.95 |
 | Amazon Price: $9.95 List Price: $14.95 |
 | Amazon Price: $7.99 |
Comments
Wonderful hub about Chai tea. Never heard of it. Glad to know something new. Thanks for sharing. Thanks for following me. I followed you too.
I love cardamon, so I always add extra to chai tea. Star anise, and split vanilla pods can add extra warmth and depth. Yum! Chai is one of my favourites!
cjcarter, your initials are nearly like my personal ones...cjc. Thanks much for your comment. Wish I had some chai tea right now!
Great article! I love Chai tea so I'll have to bookmark this recipe to try someday!
I love chai! I have heard if you have homemade vs. a mix you can definitely tell the difference. I can't wait to try the recipe and see for myself.
Thanks much for your comment. I love the flavor of chai blended with milk. Have a great day!
Nice hub! I have tried almost all kinds of tea, and chai is one of my favorites. It was interesting to learn about its benefits and origin. Thanks a lot for sharing this wonderful info!
mvaivata, thanks very much for your kind comment. Chai tea just makes my day, it's so tasty!
This is a really interesting hub, and it's nice to get a bit of a feel for the history and uses of this tea, plus I have been looking for a good recipe. I cannot wait to try this!
Hi Cathy ~ Gave three ratings up for this excellent blog on CHAI. Delish and cardamon so good. Very soothing on a cold winter night. Blessings and thanks for following, Debby
wmhseo and princess, thanks very much for your comments. In that I've been sick lately, Chai has been my water!
Although primarily a coffee lover, I've always been a fan of some nice and hot, spiced up chai on a winter arvo! The health benefits of ginger are many, like you've rightly mentioned, which is a core element of a lovely cup of chai tea.
Princesswithapen
etower, thanks very much. You should write about that cupcake recipe! Sounds great.
It also have been found that tea is useful in lowering blood sugars in diabetics. I love chi and will have a cup hot with just a bit of splenda. (being diabetic myself type 2.) I also have used chi in making a chi tea cupcakes which are so out of this world. Anyway, great hub and look forward to seeing more from you.
According to some health experts drinking tea everyday helps body to release toxic.
ytsenoh 3 weeks ago
Ah, peachpurple, once you have come chai, you'll get hooked. Thanks for the read.