“Chai” simply means “tea” in Hindi. But outside India, the word has come to mean one specific thing: black tea brewed with warming spices, usually cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, often with milk.
That’s a little different from how the word works in India itself, where “chai” just refers to tea in general and the spiced, milky version is more specifically called masala chai. In the West, the two names have collapsed into one, so “chai” and “chai latte” almost always mean the spiced version, even though that’s technically the narrower term.
Built on a bold base, on purpose
Chai starts with a black tea base strong enough to hold its own against a real dose of spice, which is why our own chai blends lean on Kumaon Black. John’s Big Black Chai splits its base between Kumaon Black and Assam for extra malt and body; Kumaon, Let’s Go stays pure Kumaon for a more direct, focused spice-forward cup. Not every chai has to be built on black tea, though. Red Moon Rooibos Chai swaps in caffeine-free rooibos, and Pumpkin Up Chai leans the format toward fall spice instead of the traditional cardamom-forward profile.
How to steep it
Chai’s spices need real heat and time to actually open up, which is part of why it’s typically steeped harder than a plain black tea. Red Moon Rooibos Chai, our rooibos-based version, uses 1 teaspoon per 8 oz of water at 200–210°F for 4–5 minutes, and rooibos’s naturally low tannin means it’s hard to oversteep into bitterness the way a black tea base can. For iced chai, steep 2 teaspoons in 8 oz of hot water for the same 4–5 minutes and pour over ice; for cold brew, ½ ounce per 64 ounces of cold water, refrigerated 8–12 hours, which softens the spice into something smoother and highlights the base’s natural sweetness.
