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chai teas
Chai loose leaf teas bring the rich, aromatic warmth of India's most beloved drink to your cup — strong Assam black tea combined with real spices: cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and black pepper. Our collection spans a classic masala chai, a creamy Bourbon vanilla chai and the fragrant rose chai of Bangalore — each made to a recipe that owes nothing to high-street powdered mixes.
Chai Teas
Chai Teas
Authentic Indian chai teas combining strong black Assam tea with a host of fragrant, aromatic spices. Unforgettable.
Transport yourself to the vibrant, bustling, fragrant streets of Mumbai, Cochin or New Delhi from the very first sip of one of our incredible chai teas.
Forget the sugary high-street coffee shop versions made with powdered chai mixes or concentrates and try our authentic chai varieties. Strong black tea combined with real cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, ground ginger and black peppercorns - a totally unforgettable experience. Aromatic and absolutely bursting with flavour it’s no surprise that Chai teas have gained worldwide popularity in recent years.
Vastly popular across the Indian subcontinent where a ‘chai walla’ (or tea vendor) can be found on almost every street corner, masala chai has no fixed ingredients and varies from place to place. Chai does however have five basic components which are almost always present: water, tea leaves, milk, sugar and a mixture made of cardamom, black pepper and ginger. Our chai collection includes several classic chai recipes. Our traditional Indian spiced chai uses a recipe from a top chai walla and includes all the ingredients you’d expect from a classic chai. Or for an even more soothing and aromatic brew, try our Bourbon vanilla chai, with the addition of top-grade Bourbon vanilla lending an even more creamy and calming flavour to this time-honoured drink.
For a morning drink with a difference you will love our Bangalore rose chai - as the story goes the Bangalore chai-wallah who was brewing his chai that day to sell to visitors in the garden discovered that rose petals from a bush being pruned nearby had fallen into his teapot. Since the chai-wallah intended to turn a profit that day rather than waste the now scented tea and brew a fresh batch he simply added his other ingredients to the pot. Gorgeous, fragrant tea was the lucky result.
All our chai teas are made with a base of strong Assam tea, which is not easily overpowered by the heady mix of herbs and spices. Prepare yours using steamed milk and sugar if you like. For a truly authentic experience you can add a dash of sweetened condensed milk to your steaming chai.
Please note we do not put the coloured name labels on the tea packets only on the gift tubes.
Five Thousand Years in the Making
Masala chai's roots run deep. Its earliest origins are thought to lie in Ayurvedic tradition, where spiced herbal brews were prepared at royal courts thousands of years ago. The version we know today took its modern form in the 19th century, when British-introduced Assam tea was adopted by Indian street vendors and woven into an existing culture of spiced drinks. The result was masala chai: a drink with no fixed recipe, varying by region, family and the chai walla who makes it, but always built around the same essential character — warming, aromatic, deeply satisfying and impossible to forget. Today chaiwallahs serve it from small clay kulhars at railway stations, roadside stalls and market corners across the subcontinent, and the tradition shows no sign of slowing.
Flavour and Character
Three teas show the range within this collection. Traditional Indian Spiced Chai is the classic starting point: a strong Assam base combined with real cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, ginger and black peppercorns — a recipe drawn from a chai walla and close to what you would find in a cup on the streets of Mumbai or New Delhi. Aromatic, bold and deeply warming, it is one of the most unforgettable cups in the collection. Bourbon Vanilla Chai adds a softer, creamier dimension: the same spiced Assam base enriched with top-grade Bourbon vanilla, which lends a natural sweetness and a calming, rounded quality that makes it especially satisfying in the evening. Bangalore Rose Chai carries a more unusual and charming story: legend has it that a Bangalore chai walla discovered that rose petals from a nearby pruned bush had fallen into his teapot and, rather than waste the brew, simply added his usual spices and served it. The result was a more fragrant, floral chai — and the combination has been made deliberately ever since.
Brewing Chai Tea
Chai is best brewed the traditional way: bring a mixture of roughly two parts water to one part milk to the boil, add the chai and spices, simmer for two to three minutes, add the milk if brewing with water first, and simmer for a further two minutes. Strain and serve, with sugar to taste — or a small dash of sweetened condensed milk for the most authentic result. For a simpler approach, steep the chai in just-boiled water for four to five minutes and add warmed milk separately. The Assam base in all three recipes is chosen specifically because it is strong enough not to be overwhelmed by the spice mixture — the tea and the spices are working together, not competing.
These are teas that reward the small effort of proper preparation. Brewed the traditional way, they are as far from a high-street chai latte as it is possible to get.