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No, Starbucks' "Chai Tea Latte" is not real chai
http://qz.com/346582/no-starbucks-chai-tea-latte-is-not-real-chai/Real chai is sugar, hot dishwater, alleged milk, and stems of tea leaves (in order by volume), served in a shot glass for 3 rupees (about five cents). Accept no substitutes.
Chai in the West has become synonymous with the overly sweet, oddly spicy blend that Starbucks sells as a Chai Tea Latte. But in India, chai takes on different flavor profiles, snack accompaniments, and even drinking vessels depending on the region or city or town.
First, a brief history of chai: “chai” translates to “tea” in Hindi and several other Indian languages (so Starbucks is being redundant—Chai Tea just means “tea tea”).
Tea came to India from China, but was popularised largely in the British colonial era when large plantations were established. And as a form of marketing, the tea was often gifted to British factory owners in the subcontinent. The owners fed that tea to Indian workers as a source of energy and cheap calories, with cream from northern Europe and sugar harvested from slave plantations in other British colonies. Basically, New York University food studies professor Krishnendu Ray says, this early form of chai was a steaming cup of the British empire.
As chai became a working-class drink, it travelled through the country, and people personalised it to their tastes, adding different spices. Today, it is one of the most common drinks in South Asia.
First, a brief history of chai: “chai” translates to “tea” in Hindi and several other Indian languages (so Starbucks is being redundant—Chai Tea just means “tea tea”).
Tea came to India from China, but was popularised largely in the British colonial era when large plantations were established. And as a form of marketing, the tea was often gifted to British factory owners in the subcontinent. The owners fed that tea to Indian workers as a source of energy and cheap calories, with cream from northern Europe and sugar harvested from slave plantations in other British colonies. Basically, New York University food studies professor Krishnendu Ray says, this early form of chai was a steaming cup of the British empire.
As chai became a working-class drink, it travelled through the country, and people personalised it to their tastes, adding different spices. Today, it is one of the most common drinks in South Asia.
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