The story of chai is somewhat revisionist, but some things can be ascertained from a little research. First and foremost, it’s a generic word for “tea” in many parts of the world. This means there’s no one exemplar or standard that the tea should meet; in other words, a unique creation will always result.
Chai has been actively used throughout its history and has strong roots in Indian Ayurvedic healing, one of the oldest systems of medicine on the planet. Ayurveda uses combined methods of herbs, foods, aromas, gems, colors, yoga, mantras, lifestyle and surgery for healing the body.
In recent years, chai has become quite popular, and is now offered in all sorts of coffee shops and cafes. It’s positioned somewhere between hot chocolate and the multifarious forms of coffee as a kind of dessert or specialty drink. Not all varieties of chai are created equal, though, and this is perhaps a good thing. Some kinds are better than others, but almost all of them are worth trying.
There are at least four different varieties around campus. Holy Cow Cafe in the EMU has its own brew; a 16-ounce serving runs an economical $1.50. India House, a longtime food vendor that’s a staple at places such as the Saturday Market, comes to the EMU on Mondays, and offers its own variant. It’s a little more expensive — costing $2.50 for a 16-ounce cup — and a bit sweeter than Holy Cow’s stuff.
Espresso Roma Cafe and Starbucks Coffee both offer mainstream variants of chai. Starbucks uses Tazo Chai, which is quite sweet but packs a punch in the flavor department, especially when it comes to the vanilla. Espresso Roma, on the other hand, uses Oregon Chai. Both of these brands are acceptable, but end up being the most expensive where they’re offered. The Buzz Coffeehouse in the EMU and The Duck Shop! Espresso Bar in the University Bookstore serve Oregon Chai, as well.
Perugino is a new cafe that recently opened at 767 Willamette St. It’s a fancy place, with good presentation value, but charges an exorbitant sum of nearly $4 for a 16-ounce cup of Oregon Chai.
Away from campus, the best bet for a good cup is Out of the Fog Organic Coffeehouse, located at 450 Willamette St. The chai is, again, a unique mixture and is optionally sweetened with maple syrup. Customers can choose from soy, rice or cow’s milk.
The option also exists to make your own. Last year, I was handed down a recipe combining a bunch of other recipes, to make, if you will, the “ultimate” chai.
The list of ingredients are as follows: cardamom seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon, whole cloves, black peppercorns, nutmeg, flower of mace, ginger, allspice, anise or fennel and vanilla. I’ve found a little orange peel used sparingly will kick the brew into overdrive. These items can be found at almost any grocery store.
The idea is to mix all these things up in varying degrees with a small amount of water, then boil them into a concentrate. And then of course, add the tea itself. Most chai is caffeinated, because it’s usually mixed with certain types of black tea. Green tea is also used, but it’s caffeinated, as well. There is no reason decaffeinated teas can’t be used, however. Another tea commonly used with chai these days is maté — it contains no caffeine.
If you’re going to pursue the homemade route, some good advice would be to use whole ingredients. For example, use whole nutmeg instead of powdered, real vanilla beans instead of vanilla concentrate, etc. These things are sometimes harder to find, but the fun part here is grinding everything down with a mortar and pestle.
For a final touch, add milk, honey or sugar. For an even richer result, use sweetened milk, condensed milk or half and half.
Or try something entirely different. All of these suggestions are somewhat arbitrary, so the experimentation is the best part.