“Remember the tea kettle – it is always up to its neck in hot water, yet still sings”
Chai tea is the wonderful spiced drink from India. It’s a delicious brew of black tea combined with awesome spices such as cardamon pods, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger along with moo milk, soy, rice or even coconut milk for an exotic twist. Yum!
I’ve been a lover of chai tea for nearly 20 years and even dare to consider myself a bit of a chai tea alchemist in the making. I brew it with love and enthusiasm and drink it with absolute pleasure.
Drink it hot in winter or as an iced tea in summer. And, if you happen to already be a lover of chai spices – then you are going to love the chai recipes.
7 great reasons to drink chai tea:
Following are the health benefits for the most common spices that you’ll find in chai tea. Of course for maximum nutritional value and flavour its best to make your own from whole organic spices. This guarantees you are maximizing the vital life force energy of the spices.
I personally prefer to buy a good quality loose chai tea and add extra cardamon pods, cinnamon, ginger and grated nutmeg to my liking.
1 – Cardamom:
Stimulates the mind and gives clarity, increases appetite and soothes the mucous membranes. It helps relieve gas, heartburn and nausea, settles upset stomachs and is effective against allergies caused by dairy products.
I use green cardamon pods in my chai tea.
2 – Cinnamon:
Has long been used to fight colds, flu and sore throats. Also used as an antidote for diarrhea, stomach upsets and to help ease menstrual cramps. It is warming to your body and restorative to the nervous system.
Just smelling the wonderful odor of this sweet spice can boost brain activity!
3 – Cloves:
Believed to invigorate and restore, helps generate heat in the body, useful during the cold/flu season. Cloves soothe tooth ache, serve as a breath freshener, relieve nausea and can also be taken for gastric upsets.
4 – Star Anise:
In traditional Chinese medicine, star anise is prescribed as a digestive aid. More recently, Shikimic Acid, extracted from star anise, is one of the chief ingredients in the antiviral Tamiflu drug used to fight avian influenza.
5: Nutmeg:
Supports your digestion and can help relieve nausea. Helps moisten the airways and reduce the drying of the mucous membranes in the throat that is often associated with smoking. Also a great tonic for lack of sleep when taken in small doses.
6: Vanilla:
Not found in many chai tea blends but it’s in one of my favourites mychai.
Loved for its exotic flavor and aroma. Also helps to improve the appetite and assists in digestion.
7: Ginger:
Ginger is commonly used as a digestive aid and contains compounds that ease motion sickness and nausea. These healing qualities can be attributed to its high Vitamin C and antioxidant content. This root is also useful in fighting heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. It is also excellent for improving sluggish circulation.
A whole blog post about chai! I love the drink; my personal recipe is a fairly classical blend of cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, black peppercorns and clove. 5 ingredients – it’s a nice number I feel 🙂 Pepper isn’t so healthy I hear – or maybe it is, nutritionists never agree with anything – it sure tastes nice, anyway. Warms your body as it goes down. You wouldn’t expect it to make a good tea but it really does.
Thanks for the post 😀 Good work, love the positive vibes.
Andrew
iced green tea…
Your topic Clear-English Blog was interesting when I found it on Monday searching for iced green tea…
[…] you are a regular reader of this blog then you already know I love my chai tea and energy/bliss balls. So, it will come as no surprise I’m sharing another awesome energy […]
Great post, I have been loving Chai Tea more and more. Thanks!
I love this blog! Just recently, I’ve tried some of my uncle’s chai tea. It wasn’t ever my favorite until I experimented with some other things. I added honey and powdered vanilla and voila! Not only that, but chai does miracles when you are feeling nauseous. Knowing me, I have an extreme case of Emetophobia, and this Chai Spice Black Tea I have been drinking lately instantly clears it up! I can’t wait to try your recipes. You’re an absolute genius!
This is great information! I’ve been on a chai tea kick lately. Learning of all these benefits makes sense of my new habit!
Love this article! I’m a huge Chai fan. Here’s my personal favourite Chai infused drink: http://bit.ly/ZRra9r
It’s crazy good. You’ll be hooked!
xo Kim
I love to drink black Chai most of the time I drink atleast 3-4 times per day,
most of the ingredient in my Chai added, some of the item I was not knowing
I thank team who published this article, its a great benefits to many who are
drinking black Chai.
Whenever I have an upset stomach I drink Chai with Soy! It gives me more relief than antacids and it so much more pleasant! (I do not have any serious medical conditions). I brought one to a sick friend and she agreed! So glad that our discovery is actually based in reality and not just all in our heads! Never knew these benefits of these spices.
Could you please let me know is I can drink chia tea safely while taking medication sutent 50mg? Thank you
[…] Drink a hot caffeinated beverage, such as a vanilla chai tea. Benefits To Drinking Chai Tea […]