Chai Tea

Chai tea is a beverage that started in India thousands of years ago. It is a blend of herbs and spices with tea. Sometimes milk is added.Chi can be made from many different formulas using differing herbs and spices. Sometimes one has to try several types of chai before choosing which is their favorite. There are some usual spices that are most often used in chai. For example, cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, ginger, fennel, star anise and nutmeg..Chai can be made with black, green, oolong and rooibos tea. There are endless combinations of the teas and spices that can be made into chai.

 The health benefits of chai come from the different spices and from the tea itself. They work synergisticly, which means they work together to produce the healthful benefits. Chai according to Indian folklore was used as a tonic to preserve health. It was also credited with giving a person peace of mind. In modern times more benefits of chai have been found, like fighting inflammation and improving digestion. Chai has antioxidants in it and there is some talk about antibacterial and anti-cancer effects. The health properties of chai vary considerably with the varying properties of the herbs and spices used.

The herbs and spices are boiled in the tea and the various components come together in a tasty and healthful whole. Chai can be bought in tea bags, in loose tea blends, in bottles or boxes in the supermarket. There is an endless number of blends available. My favorite is a tea made with red tea from Africa called rooibos. It is put out by the Stash tea company and is called red dragon spiced chai. It is made with rooibos, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. I drink it without milk, but milk or coconut cream can be added if you wish. (I am not receiving anything from Stash tea, it just happens to be one of my favorites.) Choosing a chai that is right for you is a sort of personal thing. Some chai teas I strongly dislike and others I could drink all day.

Chai is good to drink in place of coffee since a cup of chai has only about 1/3 the caffeine of a cup of coffee. Be careful of how much sugar and cream you add as it could add calories to your drink that may not be wanted.. The various commercial outlets that offer chai tea often have a nutritional breakdown of the type of chai they serve. This can be very helpful for some folks. You can find hundreds of recipes for various types of chai tea if you search the internet.  Do you have a favorite chai? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

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Sources:
htttp://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5825/Why-Everyone-Should-Drink-Chai-Tea-html
http://www.livestrong.com/article/23035-health-benefits-chai-tea/
http://www.chai-tea.org/benefits html
Http://www.med-health.net/Chai-Tea-Benefits.html

Valerie Lull
Author
Ten Healthy Teas
Lullval@clearwire.net