New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Chai
Lastly, is one that is well-known to the vast majority of the planet, Chai. Also touted as having many health benefits as Kombucha Tea and Yerba Mate the drink is known by its full name, Masala Chai, is chock full of them. The real thing that is. The delicious concoction made of rich, strong black tea, heavy milk, and a variety of spices is an ancient one with roots in India where it was available in the cafes and many tea houses before spreading to the rest of the world.
If you speak Portuguese, Spanish, or Mandarin you know the word cha and can see where the word Chai came from. The Portuguese and Spanish adopted the Mandarin word from trade and interaction with the Chinese. The “Masala” component comes from the Urdu word maṣālaḥ (one of the widest spoken languages on the Indian subcontinent) for “blend of spices,” and the Urdu word itself was adopted from the Arabic maṣāliḥ.
Originally or traditionally, Chai was made by brewing the black tea leaves, in the water, milk, spice and herb blend, and sweetener (brown or coconut sugar, honey, or jaggery) altogether and then it was either strained and served as is or “pulled.” Pulling is the aspect of holding the two pitchers, one very low and the one with the Chai high overhead then pouring the Chai into the lower one – then switching places and repeating. This thoroughly mixed and oxygenated the tea and some swear that it enhances the flavor.
At this point, we’ve mentioned all those antioxidants that come with tea and even more of them come in true Chai which contains Fennel, Ginger, and Black Pepper. Additional benefits come from the ginger which aids digestion, gives the immune system a boost, reduces inflammation and improves circulation, Fennel which provides Vitamin C, potassium and fiber, Clove which clove helps digestion, has analgesic and bacteria fighting properties, Cinnamon which aids in digestion, balances blood sugar, and has anti-inflammatory properties and finally Cardamom which helps boost the immune system and aid in ingestion too.
Sounds wonderful right? Problem is that this is real, genuine Chai and not the, er…um…American kind. Like we took cheese and watered it down so it’s some odd Frankenstein monster, we took Chai and turned it into a powder and/or concentrate. Ew. Wherever possible stay away from that and stick to the real deal.
While not my preferred drink, I have had quite a few amazing cups of Chai in my time and do enjoy it. I’ve never had it pulled, but I have had it made the original way…and the first time I had it powdered I was revulsed and decided to never do that again. It was like some creepy version of hot chocolate with spice added.
Of course, here in America we also tamper with imported dishes and drinks and often it leads to a fusion of something wonderful, but in the case of a Chai Latte which uses steamed milk, not so much and in the case of adding espresso, blasphemous. If you are the type that drinks or serves this Faustian libation which clearly uses water from the Cocytus, then we shouldn’t be friends – I don’t need that kind of negativity or black magic in my life.
Where can you get a good Chai? I honestly don’t know, but I bet you know.
