It's hard not to have come across the word "chai," whether you're a tea drinker or not! You'll find it on the menus of many restaurants and on the blackboards of even more cafes, both large and small. But did you know that, originally, "chai" simply means "tea" in Hindi?
Of course, when we say chai tea, we don't mean "tea tea," more tea than tea! What the local cafe is trying to serve you is indeed not tea squared, but rather a sweet tea with milk and spices.

Is there a recipe for this tea that's both sweet and spicy? Not really. The concept remains close to its description across the variations, but it's never precisely defined. The base is a strong, full-bodied black tea that won't be overwhelmed once sweetened. Tea leaves or granules, sugar, and spices (cinnamon, ginger, cumin, cardamom, pepper, cloves… the possibilities are endless) are added to boiling milk. It's strained before drinking, and—voilà!—you have a delicious chai tea.

In any case, it seems that all of America has embraced the concept of chai tea, because not only is it on everyone's lips, but it's also being sold in every form imaginable! You can find ready-to-use chai tea bags (a blend of spices and tea) just as you can see bottles of "chai spices" in grocery stores. And sometimes, these blends add vanilla and chocolate, straying quite definitively from the Indian origins of this tea.

And some people even make iced tea or slushies with it. A great way to cool down during heat waves. It just goes to show how well chai tea has become part of the local culture!