Chai (indian herbal tea with ginger) and The word Cha or chai means

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Chai (indian herbal tea with ginger)

>

>Ingredients:

>

>small leaf tea (earl grey, chinese tea etc.)

>1T fresh grated ginger (the more the merrier)

>1tsp cinnamon

>1tsp cloves

>1tsp cardamon pods

>1/2tsp nutmeg

>1/2tsp garam masala

>soy milk

>sweetener of choice

>water

>Directions:

>

>Fill saucepan or pot with water and add ginger, boil. Add tea and spices,

>simmer, remove and simmer again till dark. Remove from heat, add soy milk

>and sweetener to taste. Return to heat and bring to boil three times to

>bring out flavour. Strain and serve. YUM!

>

>Preparation time: 5 mins

>

>The word Cha or chai means tea in a number of languages. The languages of

>the civilized world derive their respective words for " tea " direct from

>China, the birthplace of tea and the home of its earliest cultivation and

>preparation. the native name for tea in China is ch`a, pronounced " chah, "

>in Cantonese; and changing to t`e, pronounced " tay, " in the dialect of

>Amoy.

 

The transalation of the Chinese word for " tea " into other languages began

with the earliest sale of the commodity to a foreign people. so the Arabs

called it shai and the Turks Chay. The Persians and the Portugese also

called it cha; the Russians chai; the Dutch followed the Amoy dialect and

romanized it as thee, the English " tea, " originally pronounced " tay, " being

derived through the Dutch.

 

The word is not to be found in the Bible, the works of shakspere, or any

other publication in english previous to the latter half of the

seventeenth century. In the known references to tea in English during the

years 1650 to 1659 the word appears in its earlier form of " tee, " but

pronounced " tay. "

 

It was first spelled " tea " in 1660, but still pronounced " tay " until the

middle of the eighteenth century. The word Chai means tea in a number of

Indian dialects. Tea is the most prominent drink of the peaople of India.

India is today the world's largest producer, exporter and consumer of tea.

People in the Indian sub continent have been drinking tea or have known

about tea from time immemorial.

 

Tea is largely consumed in the Northern part of India, the southern part

of India which includes the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,

and Kerala prefer coffee to tea. The tea that is drunk in these states is

mostly balck tea with milk and sugar.

 

The North Western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra are the home of the

Chai as is being sold in the present day United States of America. Chai from

Gujarat and Maharashtra must be referred to as Masala Chai. The word Masala

means a mixture of spices, therefore the word Masala Chai means Tea with a

mixture of spices. The most common spices that are used are - Cinnamon,

Ginger, Cardamom and Anise. Black pepper and cloves are used sparingly.

 

Some parts of the country also are used to drinking tea with lemon grass. A

classic cup of masala chai is best served with milk and sugar or sweetner.

Masala chai is priamrily the first cup of the day since it tends to have

more caffeine than in most other teas.

 

We have put together a classic receipe of 4 different blends of Masala

Chai. Our Chai is availabel either as Regular, Decaf or Herbal.

 

Regular: Regular chai is made with black tea and spices.

 

Decaf : Decaf chai is made with Decaffeinated balck tea - (the

decaffeinated proces used is the ethyl acetate process) and spices .

 

Herbal: Herbal Chai is made with Rooibos - an herb from south Africa which

is naturally caffeine free and has lots of health benefits and it brews like

tea and adopts well with milk and sugar, and spices .

 

 

 

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