The origins of masala chai are steeped in history - both modern and ancient - with roots in ancient South Asian medicine, British colonialism, and modern innovation.
Our story begins in the region of Assam where tea plants have grown for thousands of years. Historically, locals used the tea plants as a herbal medicine. We also have records of spice mixes being boiled with milk, but without tea, to create ancient Ayurvedic medicines which are still being used to this day. However, it wasn’t until years later that these two key components of masala chai were united into one drink.
In the 1830s, tea from Assam and Ceylon (modern day Sri Lanka) was discovered by the British East India Company and turned into large plantations to export to Britain. Despite this proliferation, the availability of tea for local populations was scarce as the majority was shipped overseas.
In the early 1900s, in an effort to expand their already monumental profits, the British Indian Tea Association ran an aggressive campaign encouraging mining, factory, railroad and textile workers in India to drink tea for breakfast and on their breaks. However, if Indians wanted tea, they had very little access to it due to its prohibitive cost. And so - much to the chagrin of their colonisers - chaiwalas would supplement larger quantities of tea leaves with masala spice mixes from the old Ayurvedic recipes, as well as more milk and sugar to create their own version of the drink. Thus, masala chai was born.
