Chai Tea

An aromatic blend of spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves and black peppercorns. Also known as masala tea, this delicious black tea is typically served with milk. From blends such as Spicy Chai to chai vanilla and Inner Strength, with sweet honey, there’s a delightful chai tea to be enjoyed at any time of day.

From the Hindi word for tea, chai is a combination of black tea that is brewed with rich and aromatic spices, creating its sweet aroma and flavour. Dating back thousands of years, chai tea has long been used in India as a staple of Ayurvedic practices. A rich and warming drink that is served with milk, it can be sweetened with honey and sugar. Chai tea has no specific recipe, so you can adapt the ingredients to suit your personal taste.

Originating in India thousands of years ago, chai tea began as a mixture of spices. During the time of the British Empire in the 1800s, in the Assam region, where wild tea plants grew, black tea leaves were added to the more traditional form of chai spices to create masala chai. Typically used before this as a medicinal drink, thanks to the range of spices which helped the digestive system, and its warming qualities, chai tea grew in popularity.

There is no set recipe for making chai tea, and whilst the original version of masala chai had no black tea leaves (leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant), chai tea as we know it today contains black tea. Different regions, tea shops, and master blenders will have their own recipe for chai tea, but the main components of chai tea are an Assam or Darjeeling black tea, with some using the South African Rooibos tea, sweetener, milk, and a mixture of spices. These spices can vary in quantity and type, from vanilla ginger, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, star anise, and even fennel.

Chai tea can be made into a delicious chai latte.

There are many types of chai tea, each with different qualities, flavours, and quantities of ingredients. Some may have more ginger and black peppercorn, giving them more heat and warmth, whilst others may taste more fragrant with nutmeg and cinnamon. It also depends on how much milk and sweetener are added, which is all down to personal preference. Chai tea has a great depth of flavour and can be enjoyed as a black tea and a soothing sweet milky drink. As mentioned, with no definitive chai recipe, the tea can be adapted to suit different moods and even different seasons.

We have a variety of delicious chai tea recipes at Twinings.

• Loose-leaf Spicy Chai Tea: A warming and aromatic blend of black tea, rooibos, and fragrant spices in loose-leaf tea form.

• Inner Strength: A sweet blend of honey chai and rooibos with a dose of maca to add a malty sweet flavour.

• Chai Vanilla: A blend of spice that soothes with the sweetness of vanilla.

How you drink your chai tea is all down to preference, as well as whether you opt for loose-leaf chai tea or a tea bag.

To make a chai latte using a tea bag simply:

• Boil the kettle - always use freshly drawn cold water.

• Pour the water over the tea bag (about a third of the way up) - never pour boiling water over loose-leaf tea or tea bags

• Leave to brew for 3-4 minutes - use one chai tea bag per drink.

• Froth enough milk to fill the mug to the top.

• Sweeten with honey and a dusting of cinnamon, depending on your taste.

With over 300 years of tea blending behind us, you can count on Twinings chai tea for the perfect warming cup — every time.

• Exceptional quality: Our Master Blenders rate hundreds of samples every week from all over the world to make sure we only buy the best. We don't own any tea gardens either, so we're free to partner with the best producers around.

• Broad selection: We've innovated since day one to introduce people to new tastes and experiences. From our diverse black tea to our fruit & herbal infusions, there's a perfect chai tea blend for every home brewer.

• Preferred by tea drinkers: Looking for the best chai tea blend in the UK? Don’t just take our word for it. We're the number one choice for Out of Home Tea, with people considering our tea to be higher quality and better tasting than others.

• Committed to care: All our teas are sourced with care, from looking after the environment they grow in to treating suppliers and pickers fairly. Learn more about our commitment to communities.

Shop our chai tea today and experience more. Got a question? Check our FAQs or contact us.