CHAI TEA 101 The traditional ingredients of a chai tea blend usually include black tea mixed with strong spices, like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and black peppercorns. The spiced tea mixture is typically brewed strong with milk and sweetened with sugar or honey. As traditional chai beverages can vary from town-to-town and family-to-family, there is no one recipe that defines chai but some essential ingredients. One of them is tea, with Assam and Darjeeling black teas native to India the most popular to use as a chai base. Another essential ingredient is milk. Traditionally in India it’s made with buffalo milk however we can find it with many variations around the world like cow’s milk or a different dairy free alternatives, like oat and almond milks. Chai tea is sweetened either with white sugar, brown sugar or honey, whereas in India, the sweetener of choice is usually jaggery. Last but not least, the spice mix that defines chai tea varies by region, climate and cultural preference. Traditionally, cardamom, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and black peppercorns can be found but, also nutmeg, fennel and saffron are popular additions.