One of my friends went on a trip to Nepal recently, and when he asked me what I wanted, I immediately told him “Nepalese tea”. And he came back with a box of Masala Chai for me! Chai isn’t something that I often drink at home – the first time I’ve had it, it was at the house of a friend who made it from scratch – but I do enjoy it and I was excited to have a chai tea.

Although I did have a moment of doubt about the type of tea because the other side of the box said “chia”. But the description of the tea takes ‘chia’ to be a synonym of ‘chai’, so I learnt a new thing! Then again, even if they meant “chia” as in “chia seed”, that’s a superfood so either way, I’m coming out ahead [1].

This is how the Rakura describes the tea:

“Masala chia or Chai as the world knows it, is an age-old Nepalese concoction of fresh Himalayan herbs and team drunk widely for its antimicrobial and stress relieving properties. The robustness of the best CTC teas spiced with distinctive herbs will not only replenish you with energy by nature but will also put a smile on your face.” 

The recommended brewing instruction is to use 100 degree water and steep for 3 – 4 minutes. The box also says “best served with milk and honey/sugar” so I tried it two ways.

Plain, the tea smelled strongly of spices and had a very dark brown liquor. The taste was of the black tea first, and then the spices.

While the plain version was pleasant, I definitely prefer the milk and sugar version. The milk and sugar helped to harmonise the spices with the tea and made for a version pleasant drink. The tea is pretty strong and you can still taste it even with the milk, sugar, and spices.

Overall, I enjoyed this. I think that it’s a great way to make a quick cup of masala chai at home.

Note

[1] I just googled “chia tea” and saw a result. Well, I have chia at home so I guess I know what I’m trying! Also, I tried googling “Masala chia” but did not see anything about chia meaning chai – it’s probably due to my language settings, but if anyone knows Nepalese, do chime in about chia vs chai!

Coda: Masala Chia Chai Tea

I tried making chia tea after reading the post in the note above, but it did not turn out well. I made it by making the chia tea, add milk, sugar, and chia, and then leaving it in the fridge to chill (I like chia pudding so that’s how I normally make it). Well, the chia chai tea turned out to be fairly tasteless, which was a bit of a shock. It was so good when hot and I pretty much followed the recommended brewing instructions, so I don’t think I made it wrongly. If I were to ever make this again, which I probably wouldn’t, I’d probably add a lot more sugar and steep the tea for much longer.