Chai tea or masala tea, as it is called is a combination of black tea and spices like ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. It’s most often brewed with both milk and water. It can also be sweetened according to one’s preference.
What is Chai Tea?
Chai tea is a beverage with a blend of spices, herbs, and tea. For centuries it has been revered for its health benefits in Chinese traditional medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, and in the Indian holistic healing system. Teas can vary depending on the region in which it is consumed and the preferences of the drinker but in general, they contain some staple ingredients such as cloves, cardamom, and other spices which makes it taste even better and organic.
Ingredients used in Chai Tea
Most chai teas are made from oxidized and fermented black tea leaves and combined with spices including cardamom, fresh ginger, black pepper, ground cloves or whole cloves, cinnamon, and fennel. Both black and green cardamom pods can be used for Chai recipes depending on the region.
Some chai tea blends contain black peppercorns, nutmeg, coriander seed, fennel seeds, allspice, and star anise. These chai spices contain powerful botanical elements including antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, and antibacterial microorganisms which is why chai tea has its extraordinary health benefits.
The chai tea spice mixture is often blended with tea leaves to add a stronger flavor profile to the regular chai tea ingredients. Chai is most frequently blended with Assam black tea, it can also be found blended with green tea and oolong tea. Chai is also frequently infused with Indian black teas such as Darjeeling or Ceylon teas from Sri Lanka.
Taste
Chai tea, also known as masala chai. It contains a blend of delicious flavors and gives off a spicy aroma that awakens the senses. The ginger and pepper give this spicy tea a little eye-opener while cinnamon and cloves add a smooth tone to chai blends. Chai tea is often sweetened to enhance the robustness of the spices lending a spicy and sweet flavor with a creamy texture.
It is often used as an alternative to coffee due to its caffeine content. Before British colonial rule, chai tea was frequently consumed with a squint of buffalo milk. Today, the tea is often sweetened and smoothed with milk or nut kinds of milk.
1.) You could strengthen your bones if you drink chai tea every day
- A research was done comparing the relationship between bone mineral density and tea-drinking in older women, the study revealed that older women who drank tea had higher bone mineral density measurements than others who did not drink tea.
- The science isn’t exactly clear as to why this happens, but it could be that the flavonoids in tea positively impact bone density. Whatever the reason, the researchers concluded, “Tea drinking may protect against osteoporosis in older women.”
- Since milk is also often added to chai tea, you’ll be able to strengthen your bones even more than just drinking black tea.
- After all, consuming milk has been found to decrease bone loss as well as improve bone density.
- Additionally, if you replace your morning coffee and afternoon soda with chai tea, you can further be protected against bone loss, as both beverages don’t impact women’s bones.
2.) Improved heart health
- If you want to improve your heart health, choosing to drink chai tea every day might be able to do that.
- A study found that consuming three cups of black tea the main ingredient in chai per day reduces the risk of developing coronary heart disease.
- Another study conducted by researchers also found that regular consumption of black tea was capable of reducing blood pressure.
- The researchers mentioned that although the effect is small, the study noted, such effects could be important for cardiovascular health at the population level.
- Cinnamon, one of the more prevalent spices in chai, has also been found to lower blood pressure, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol.
- Because of the serendipitous combo of black tea and cinnamon, which has quite a few unexpected health benefits, chai is effective when it comes to heart health.
3. Helps to stabilize blood sugar levels
- Incorporating cinnamon and ginger into your daily diet can be beneficial but how and why should you do this? One study revealed that cinnamon can reduce blood glucose in both patients with type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance.
- Another study found that ginger helped lower blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetics.
- However, most studies recommend consuming one to six grams of each spice per day, which is more than you’ll get in a teabag.
- You can try preparing the tea yourself from scratch to get the maximum benefits.
- That way, you can add slightly more cinnamon and ginger as per your preferences than following most recipes.
- It’s also important to note that varieties prepared in cafés are often heavily sweetened, which would likely change the blood-sugar-lowering benefits of the other ingredients in chai tea.
- Ginger has been found to ease nausea in pregnant women, you can find relief from chai tea not from the ginger in the drink, but the cardamom.
4.) Prevent stomach ulcers if you drink chai tea every day
- A study in rats with aspirin-induced gastric ulcers found that cardamom was able to help.
- Rats who ate cardamom extract experienced both smaller and fewer ulcers than the rats who did not consume cardamom.
- A similar study also found that cardamom, along with turmeric helped protect rats against getting stomach ulcers in the first place.
- Even if you don’t have a stomach ulcer, you may be plagued with indigestion, cardamom can help you ease it down as well.
5.) Brightens up your mood
- When you’re stressed out, nothing may sound better than a hot cup of tea.
- If stress is a daily occurrence, though, you may want to consider replacing your usual nightly brew with chai tea, and don’t forget to add nutmeg.
- A study conducted by researchers found that nutmeg seed extract induced an “antidepressant-like effect” on mice.
- Interestingly, the nutmeg extract was able to zen the mice, but it didn’t have any kind of negative impact or “significant effect” on the animals’ movement.
- In addition to potentially boosting your mood, the nutmeg and cloves in your cup of tea may also boost your hormonal levels.
- One study in rats revealed that the spices were found to stimulate the mounting behavior of male mice, and also to significantly increase their mating performance.
- Naturally, what happens in mice may not be the same as what happens in humans. However, if you’re looking for a way to unwind, it couldn’t hurt to brew a pot of chai tea every day.
6.) It Can Support Your Immune System
- If you want to build a healthy immune system, drinking a few cups of chai tea every day can help you achieve your goal. Cardamom has been a staple of Tibetan medicine for centuries and it contains high doses of vitamin C and other nutrients that keep your immune system healthy
- Cardamom is grown in Sri Lanka, India, and Tanzania and comes in two varieties, green and black.
- Green cardamom has a vibrant and balanced taste. Black cardamom tends to have a smoky flavor.
- If you’re looking to get the benefits from this spice in your chai tea, it’s a good idea to find out whether your teabags contain black or green cardamom.
- Black cardamom is known for its antiseptic and expectorant qualities while green cardamom can help clear your sinuses and detoxify your body.
- Both types of cardamom found in chai tea have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties that help to fight off common colds, bacteria, and fungus.
7.) It Can Wake You Up
- This tea is a great choice for getting your morning started or getting a little boost to run through the day.
- Chai tea has caffeine since it contains black tea leaves, which naturally contain some caffeine.
- Since each chai uses a varied amount of black tea, it’s hard to say precisely how much caffeine each tea bag contains.
- Chai tea contains about one third the amount of caffeine as a regular cup of coffee and about one-sixth the amount of a strong cup of coffee.
- That means you can consume several cups of chai tea a day without the negative effects when compared to too much coffee.
- You’ll still get the stimulant effects and can tackle even the longest days.
- Switching from coffee to chai tea can be a good option to reduce your caffeine intake and lessen jittery feelings without sticking to coffee alone.
8.) Aches and Pains
- The spices included in chai tea can help to alleviate common aches and pains.
- It can even help people with more severe pain such as arthritis.
- These health benefits derive from the properties of the ingredients in chai tea, specifically ginger and clove.
- Ginger root has been shown to reduce inflammation, which can ease pain ranging from minor headaches to migraines.
- Ginger increases circulation, delivering oxygen-rich blood cells to areas with aches and pains to alleviate the symptoms.
- Cloves have been used for more than 2,000 years as a homeopathic remedy for minor pains such as toothaches.
- In modern society, cloves have been used to treat a variety of dental-related pains including dry socket and general tooth pain.
- Studies have even shown that clove gel can be used as a topical anesthetic similar to benzocaine.
Here’s how you can make your Chai Tea Concentrate
Chai Tea Concentrate
Here is what you’ll need to make 16 ounces of chai
Ingredients
- 20 whole black peppercorns
- 5 whole cloves
- 5 green cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1-star anise
- 2.5 cups water
- 2.5 tablespoons loose-leaf black tea
- 4 inches of fresh ginger, sliced
Directions
- Roast peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and star anise on low heat for around 2 minutes or until fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Using a grinder or manually grind cooled spices into a coarse powder.
- Using a large saucepan, combine the water, ginger and ground spices and bring to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Don’t let your mixture reach a boil, as it will cause the spices to become bitter.
- Stir in the loose-leaf black tea, turn the heat off and allow to steep for around 10 minutes, then strain.
- If you prefer your tea sweet add a sweetener of your choice and simmer for 5–10 minutes, then cool and refrigerate.
- Strain the chai tea concentrate into a sterilized bottle and let cool before refrigeration. The concentrate keeps in the fridge for up to one week.
To make a cup of Ceylon Chai Tea, simply stir one part concentrate with one part hot water and hot cow’s milk or unsweetened plant milk. For the lighter version, use one part to concentrate on two parts of the milk. Stir and enjoy it.
The flavor of Chai Ceylon Tea can be varied according to your preferences.
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