Stop Calling it a “Chai” Tea Latte
“Chai tea” literally translates to “tea tea”. This seems to be a longstanding internet meme. Indians roll their eyes every time they hear the words chai tea or naan bread.
This meme was surprisingly very influential in my social circle. I even had non south asian friends correcting each other for mistakenly saying “chai tea”. Suddenly, everyone was a Hindi expert. I laughed when the recent Spiderman movie referenced the internet drama, realizing that the topic was now mainstream. And now, finally, Starbucks has changed the name of the “chai tea latte” to “chai latte”. Wow, they really care about cultural sensitivity now!
Personally, this is not the outcome I wanted from this internet call out.
I think this debate was well meaning, but it quickly turned into the grammar police. Yes, saying chai tea means literally tea-tea, but many American-English phrases are redundant: PIN Number, ATM Machine, Shrimp Scampi for example. Oftentimes, the people I’d see online or in person criticizing the usage of “chai tea” were not south asian. Rather, people use this knowledge as a way to virtue signal about their cultural competency, losing any cultural nuance.
History of Masala Chai
The Brits loved Chinese tea, but in the 1820s, the Chinese restricted trade with the East India Company to prevent the British from stealing plants and knowledge about their teas. So, the British decided to start tea plantations in Eastern India and exploit the people of Assam for labor to cultivate their own tea plants. However, due to their lack of experience, the tea produced was quite dry and bitter; the company had a hard time selling the low quality tea to the English market. So, they tried to extract more wealth by selling tea to Indian workers, introducing chai breaks into their schedules. (A more thorough history is here.)
To the behest of the British, the Indian chai vendors (chaiwalas) started mixing traditional spice mixes (possibly from medicinal practices) and sugar and milk while brewing the pots of tea. The British were afraid that mixing the spices in the tea would lead to less tea being used per cup. The chaiwalas kept brewing the tea with spices anyway, creating a drink that was more appealing to Indian palettes and something they could call their own. This is the origin of the most known form of Indian chai today - aka masala chai.
The Indian Subcontinent is very dense and diverse, so this is just a small part of the history of chai in the region. Other parts of the region have their own tea culture. For example, in Kashmir a popular drink is noon chai (translates to salt tea) which is famous for its pink color that comes from oxidizing green tea with baking soda. The spice mixes also vary between regions and people. In my personal life, I recently had a masala chai flavored with carom seeds from a Punjabi restaurant; a new experience for me.
Indian Chai Culture
The Indian hot beverage market is different from the American one, and not just because tea is more popular in India. For instance, the serving size is generally smaller. If you get a chai on the streets of India it will probably be about 4-6 oz — the size of a cortado. Masala chai is usually more caffeinated than your average black tea because of the way it is prepared, so a smaller portion is probably warranted. Some Indian tea shops will offer a variety of different flavors of masala chai (ginger, almond, brown sugar). You can get a cup of tea pretty much anywhere you eat in India, not just breakfast establishments. At a tea stall, chai is often paired with light fried snacks or biscuits.
Most South Asians have their own preferences, and their own relationships with tea. When I was a kid, my mom would brew herself a cup of tea and hand me a Parle-G biscuit. I would look forward to dipping them in her tea, and I love the way the cookie would absorb all the flavors of cardamom and ginger and then melt in my mouth. I still prefer my tea with lots of ginger, the way my mom makes it.
Does Chai Really Mean Tea?
I mean, yes, literally in some South Asian languages, chai translates most closely to tea. But, because of the history and the culture, chai and tea have a unique meaning to us. I would never call an earl grey tea “chai”. I love it, but it’s not chai to me. Chai is a word reserved for creamy tea with the aromas that remind me of my mom’s kitchen.
But, maybe this is a perspective colored by being a second generation immigrant in America.
I remember the first time I went to Starbucks with my friends as a teenager, and I was excited when I saw the chai tea latte on the menu. However, I was disappointed when I had the first sip. It wasn’t a chai. I didn’t care that the name wasn’t redundant. I was upset that this wasn’t a representation of my culture, but it was masquerading as one.
Recently, someone (not south asian) asked me for chai recs, and I immediately gave her a list of my favorite Indian spots around the city. But soon, I realized that she was looking for local versions of her favorite Starbucks drink. She just used the word “chai” instead of “chai tea latte”.
As second gen immigrants, we get raised with two cultures at once. Our experience at home doesn’t necessarily match up with our experience outside. We live in two worlds. When I hear the word “chai” a part of me lights up hoping that somehow these worlds could be connected, but I’m reminded over and over again that they are not. Americans learning one Hindi word doesn’t bridge that gap. They just get to gloss over the fact that they took a word and stripped away any meaning.
Starbucks should just start calling its drink what it really is, a pumpkin spiced tea with milk.