Chai Tea: Not to be Confused with Tai Chi

Close your eyes, relax and take a deep breath. As you breathe, smell the aroma of the freshly brewed tea you are about to drink. The hot beverage can be soothing and relaxing. The aroma can be intoxicating and may clam your nerves, and help you relax after a long day.

Try a mixture of black tea, ginger cloves, pepper, nutmeg; add hot water, milk and honey and you have an unbelievably delicious version of Chai tea. It is a healthy answer to replace your morning cup of coffee.

Chai, the 'ch' is pronounced like 'church' and rhymes with 'sky.' In the United States, it is abbreviated from Masala Chai. The word masala means a mixture of spices. Other derivatives are tea lattes which is essentially tea with milk. Chai is not a specific brand of tea, it denotes a method of preparation with spices and milk.

Tea is traced back to the Hindus and the use of a natural healing system which combines spices, herbs and is considered to have natural healing properties.

Chai is the word for tea in Asian cultures. Typically, it is made by boiling tea with milk and water. Depending on tastes, a variety of additives such as honey, lemon and spices such as cinnamon can be added. In some countries, tea is more popular than coffee.

The smell of tea can be a welcoming and relaxing experience. After a stressful day, there is nothing like sitting down, relaxing and enjoying a hot beverage. In the winter, what could be better than curling up to a warm fire and a cup of hot tea.

Most generally black tea is used and can be combined with molasses, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. The preferred way to make it in India is to boil the leaves with milk to get a strong flavor.

The spices used have health benefits such as antioxidants which help fight off cancer. Tea also helps lower cholesterol and lowers blood pressure. Cloves help generate body heat so that you are toasty in the winter and cold and flu season. Ginger aids the digestive and respiratory systems. Every drop of this tea is good for you, so enjoy a cup or two and have a stress free day! A five ounce cup of coffee has over a 100 milligrams of caffeine whereas, tea has half that.

The Wallahs are sellers of Chai tea. The tea is brewed in extra large kettles over a fire. The tea is served in small pots called 'kullarhs' which are unglazed pots. Part of the ritual of drinking this tea, is destroying the pot after drinking the tea.

So next time you are considering a hot beverage, consider a cup of Chai tea. Your mind and body will be thankful that you did!