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Oooh – good to know that there’s some Kusmi at Kitchen Kapers! There is one near my work!

That’s cuz it is a chai isn’t it lol? (At least by definition even if not by name)

@JacquelineM give them a call first, they get a little in and not often, i was lucky and stumbled in on delivery day

@Cofftea While all chais are by definition spice teas, not all spice teas are by definition chais. The name “chai” has been thrown around pretty loosely by companies making new mixes, but at its base it must include masala spices in order to really be considered “chai”. I should note here that when we say “chai” here in the West, we’re actually referring to the Indian drink known as “masala chai”—“chai” alone just means tea, not tea with spices. “Masala chai” is the spicy, creamy drink that westerners have come to love over the last few decades. I wouldn’t label Constant Comment a chai just because it has cinnamon, nutmeng, and other spices in it.

Shanti, yeah I’m aware that chai is Hindi for tea. When I say “chai” I’m using the western definition:) Based on the ingredients I would consider Constant Comment a chai- well at least til reading this lol. So what are the requirements for a masala chai?

Um…okay. I’m not sure how else I can really explain this to you. You can call CC a chai, but that doesn’t make it one. Like I said above, the reason why some teas taste like “chai” and others just seem like “spice teas” is because of the specific spices used. Chai requires Indian/South Asian masala spices, whereas “spice tea” doesn’t. I don’t know what you want me to tell you. Chai recipes vary from family from family, the the predominant flavor is almost always cardamom and clove. Cinnamon and star anise are also sometimes used, as is ginger.

I don’t know. Am I making any sense? I just find it kind of offensive that you’ve kind of ignored my post (and I’ve talked about chai with you before) and then are saying that everythings the same because you say it is. It’s just kind of offensive to hear you categorize different cultural foods at your will, as though the world and its cultures are for your taking. It’s like saying “I love pad thai, it’s my favorite Chinese food” and then even after being corrected continuing to call it and all Asian noodle dishes Chinese, regardless of cultural origin. In the case of tea, it’s a bit more complex because, you know, that centuries long history of the West kind of maybe sort of really colonizing and exploiting South Asia for centuries. Just a heads up.

By the way, I feel like I need to add, I am not a traditionalist in any sense. Drink tea and chai however the hell you like it – with or without milk, with or without sugar, with gasp splenda, upside down, whatever. Just don’t go around acting like you’re invested in tea culture and make a huge deal about the rules of steeping and how everyone is wrong all the time, and then turn around an not have an ounce of respect or even just curiosity for the culture behind the import your enjoying—and that applies for all cultural imports, not just tea.

I like this idea! Seems very facinating..