There are several type of tea being marketed today. Tea is most popular drink in this world. Tea is drank by people from across region. among those type of tea, in this article we will talk about Chai tea and Green tea. some of you might be already familiar with these delicious drinks. but for those who are not familiar yet, here is some information about Chai tea and green tea.
Chai Tea
Chai tea or Chai means tea in Hindi, this word is derived from Chinese word for tea “Cha”. The cha we are talking about is a mix of spices steeped into tea-like beverage. Recipe for Chai is vary from region, cultures, towns, and families. The traditional recipe for Chai is usually black tea mix with some strong spices, such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, and black peppercorn. This mixture is steeped and blend with milk and you may add them with a sweetener like sugar and honey. Chai has a history from 5000 years ago, it is said a king in India at that time ordered his servant to serve him a kind of healing spiced beverage used for ayurveda, a traditional medicinal practice used for healing. The heat from ginger and pepper is certainly believed to be able to stimulate digestion, also cloves were believed to relieve pain, cardamom for mood elevator, cinnamon can be used to support circulation and respiratory function, and star anise are known to freshen breath. In general a 12 ounce cup of Chai tea may contains 125 calories, 25 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fat, 3 grams of protein, and 1 gram of fiber.
Chai tea has benefit such as:
1. It has an anti-inflammatory feature, it can reduce pain associated with arthritis.
2. It can treat nausea, ginger ingredients in Chai can help to reduce nausea and vomiting, also known to get rid the discomfort of motion sickness and nausea caused by chemotherapy.
3. It is packed with antioxidant load, tea contains lots of polyphenol than fruits and vegetable. It can help preventing damage caused by free radical.
4. It can helps with digestion. Black pepper. Cardamom, ginger, fennel, and clove is known to benefit our gut.
5. It can help to reduce heart disease risk. Cinnamon is known to contain a vital oils and other derivatives, giving it the ability to combat diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.
Even though Chai tea is beneficial, it also can cause harm to your body if not drink moderately and serve the wrong way. Chai powder or also called CTC powder can turn into toxic when boiled in milk, water and sugar. So it is recommended to steep the tea until the flavors are infused into the water an avoid boiling the Chai. Tea and sugar is high in calorie, so consume it in moderation to avoid gaining weight.
Green Tea
Green tea is tea leaves from the species Camellia Sinensis, which is not processed as the same as black tea. The tea leaves are plugged from its tree, and then quickly heated by pam firing or steaming and dried, to prevent too much oxidation from occurring which will turn the green leaves brown and alter its taste. Green tea have a typically have a green, yellow or light brown in color when steeped. When brewed correctly green tea will have a quite light color and only mildly astringent. Even though green tea comes from the same plant, not all green tea may taste the same. The taste of the final leaves, might be affected by the processing method and also how the plant was cultivated such as when the tea is plucked, how the plants was pruned, which part of the leaves are plucked, is the plant treated with chemicals or organically grown, the heat used to stop the oxidation, how the leaves is shape, roll or dried, and whether the leaves is cut in smaller pieces or left whole. The environment where the tea plant is cultivated also can affect the final leaves. Whether it was grown in cool and mountainous or hot and tropical environment. (See also : White Tea vs Green Tea)
Green tea is a healthy drink with very low calorie, however consuming it abundantly may cause harm to our body. Since green tea contain caffeine, it might not suitable for those who have a sleeping problem and children is also not advised to drink green tea. The excess consumption of green tea may reduce the body ability to absorb folic acid, which is known to be vital for cell growth. It also reduces iron absorption into the body.
| Chai Tea | Green Tea |
|---|---|
| - Chai tea is using black tea | - Green tea, commonly only contains green tea leaves |
| - It is served with milk and sweetener | - Green tea is served commonly by steeping it with hot plain water. Some people may add sweetener but most people drink it as it is |
| - Chai tea also added with some spices such as, black tea and several type of spices such as, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, and black peppercorn | - Since it usually drink itself, it has very low calorie |
| - It was originated from India | - It was originated from China |
Conclusion
Chai tea and green tea is equally delicious. Some people who don’t like green tea bitterness may drink black tea or chai tea. Both of them are very beneficial to our body if consumed moderately and prepared or served correctly. Try each one of them if you are not yet, and see yourself which one suit your taste buds better.