Chai’s Indian roots date back 5,000-9,000 years ago. Chai is tea mixed with spices (generally cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, pepper), often served with hot milk or sweetened condensed milk. In India, “chai” means tea and “masala” means spices. Masala (spices only) was consumed in India for centuries. It wasn’t until the early 1800's that tea was added when England stole tea from China and developed plantations in India, did tea get added to chai to make masala chai (spices and tea).
