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Summary: Chai tea in the United States is made of black tea leaves and spices steeped in milk. Learn about chai tea with tips from a tea lounge owner in this free tea brewing video.
Tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world, second only to water. It is an infusion of processed leaves, buds, or twigs of a tea bush steeped in hot water, offering a multitude of subtle medicinal benefits and comfort. Originating in southeast Asia, tea has an array of creation myths, including Chinese Emperor Shennong's serendipitous consumption of the mystic beverage in 2737 BC. Containing over seven hundred chemicals, tea possesses proven health benefits like antioxidants, heart disease prevention, blood pressure normalization, and aiding digestion. Whether drinking for spiritual fulfillment or medicinal aid, tea is a comforting beverage enjoyed hot or cold, green or black, sweet or earthy. Sweet teas are often enjoyed as a dessert treat after meals. In this free tea video series, a tea lounge owner demonstrates how to prepare different types of sweet tea. Learn about chai, Thai tea, and boba tea, and find out how to prepare each drink. Start brewing perfect cups of tea with this informative guide.
"So what is chai tea. Spelled chai. Chai simply means tea in India. But that's what they mean. When you go to India and you order chai make sure to say masala chai because if you order just chai, it's just going to be straight black tea, sometimes it's served with sugar, and sometimes with milk. But when you want masala chai it's equivalent to we in the U.S. call chai tea. Which has black tea leaves, various spices, like the star anise the cardamom. This spice type of tea is also called spiced chai. It is very healthy for you because it enhances all your internal energy. It's very, very strong tea. And the best way to brew it is to heat up milk on a stove top, then you add in your spices, let it set for about five to ten minutes so that the milk soaks up all the spices and the aroma and then you put in your black tea leaves last. Because why? Black tea shouldn't be brewed longer than five minutes or so without it being, getting bitter. So again chai tea is a variety of spices plus black tea in addition to milk and sugar but that's how you can changes things up to your own palate. If you like it without milk you don't have to take it with milk, you can have it with sugar and you can sweeten it as much as you like. That is what chai tea is."
eHow Article: What Is Chai Tea?
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