How Much Caffeine In Chai – Chai lattes are a perennial favorite at our tea bar, served hot to cool off during the winter months or iced for a refreshing summer treat. We recently wondered – what is the actual caffeine content of traditional Masala Chai (spiced black tea) and how does caffeine in chai compare to coffee or other teas?
To briefly answer this frequently asked question: yes, traditional chai tea contains caffeine. (That’s why we created a spicy rooibos-based herbal tea for chai lovers who want to enjoy a sweet and savory cup without the added caffeine kick.)
How Much Caffeine In Chai
But first, let’s take a step back and talk about what it is, exactly, and why there is some confusion about its caffeine content.
Simple Chai Tea
Masala Chai literally translates to “Spicy Tea”, with “Chai” being the name of the tea and “Masala” referring to any number of Indian spice blends that often contain spices such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, black pepper and similar spices. . (depending on personal taste and family recipe, your masala may also contain cloves, fennel, cumin, coriander or mace!). Masala Chai is a combination of this Masala spice blend and Indian black tea, traditionally Assam, although some recipes use Ceylon orange peko instead.
Referring to Masala Chai as chai chai (or “chai chai”) is an outdated practice developed by Western tea drinkers due to its complex linguistic and political history. But the bottom line is that somewhere along the lines of post-colonial and post-colonial India, the word “chai” became synonymous with English speakers who spiced black tea served with hot milk, instead of the whole word: “Masala Chai”. A few decades later, Merriam-Webster officially defined tea in English as “a mixture of black tea, honey, spices, and milk.” In an effort to avoid confusion and appease search engines, we’ll use it that way.
The next source of confusion for many people is the word latte in Chai Latte. In Italian, latte is simply the word for milk. However, English speakers have come to associate the word latte with espresso drinks. Usually these drinks are ordered to reduce the coffee in the original Caffe Latte. It’s now common for someone in the US to ask their local barista for a small latte with skim milk, for example, and as long as you’re not in Italy – or dealing with a meticulous barista – this probably works just fine. ! But using lattes in this way has led to some confusion when it comes to other milk drinks.
Unlike the unavailability of tea, using a latte in this way leads to confusion when ordering other frothy milk drinks – such as a Chai Latte or Matcha Latte. Both Chai Lattes and Matcha Lattes are teas served with frothed milk and a shot of espresso can be found (unless you order your chai dirty…). As you can imagine, this has led to many questions about whether there is coffee in Chai Lattes. The simple answer is: not unless you put it there!
Organic Chai Tea
So, in short: we’ll continue to use chai to refer to spiced tea, but we’ll use the original definition of latte to refer to a drink made with milk, not some kind of espresso drink.
To differentiate between our traditional Indian spiced chai and the western versions when browsing our website or ordering from the tea bar, you can look for the first word in the name – our Masala Chai is our traditional offering, while the Golden Dragon Tea, Pita Pumpkin Spice Chai and Saratoga Red Chai are spiced teas.
All traditional teas contain caffeine, so any tea made with black, green or oolong tea will contain some amount of caffeine. The caffeine content of your cup of tea will vary depending on the ratio of tea to water, steeping time, and the amount of tea and flavorings (like spices in Masala Chai). The chart below is a good place to start to understand how much caffeine may be in your cup of traditional tea, with the categories given for each type of tea being general, though not a complete representation of that type of tea.
*Caffeine content range based on liquid chromatography-UV tea steeped in two cups of water; matcha is mixed in a bowl with 1/2 cup of water.
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Before we get into the complex magic of figuring out how much caffeine is in your chai latte, we want to take a moment to talk about the caffeine in tea and how its effects can differ from the caffeine you normally find in coffee.
Although the caffeine in tea is the same compound found in coffee, the caffeine in tea binds to other substances differently than the caffeine in coffee. Specifically, caffeine bonds with the tannins in tea, and the tannins prevent the rapid removal of caffeine from the body. This is why tea produces a longer and more stable caffeine than coffee.
Another difference between the two types of caffeine is the way the caffeine found in tea affects and interacts with the central nervous system and cardiovascular system. Unlike coffee’s direct effect on blood circulation and heart rate, the caffeine in tea instead increases the diameter of vessels in the cerebral cortex. In other words, the caffeine in tea is more stimulant than stimulant, sharpening the mind and reducing fatigue (according to Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties; Second Edition).
You probably noticed that we didn’t include Masala Chai in the caffeine in tea chart above. Mainly, it’s because we don’t want to be discounted, so we provide the table below.
Big Train Chai 3.5 Lb Assorted Bags
Assuming your chai is about a half/half ratio of tea to spices, we can conclude that a regular pour over tea would have half the caffeine of regular black tea, or 11-24 mg. However, there’s one big thing we haven’t addressed yet: the length of the brew will change the amount of caffeine in the tea.
Research shows that although most of the caffeine in tea is released within the first 3 minutes after steeping, caffeine is still released after the first few minutes when the curve begins to peak at around 10 minutes. In the same Huiming green tea infusion, 4.5 minutes steeped in 1 cup of water released 13 mg of caffeine while 10 minutes steeply released 21 mg. If we compare that to our 16 oz cups in the chart above, a 4.5 minute steep would contain about 26 mg while a 10 minute steep would contain about 42 mg, not doubling the caffeine by a little more than double! Because of this, the caffeine content of a chai concentrate like the one we use in our chai lattes will be higher than a regular cup of tea on a one-to-one basis.
But things will get complicated again because tea concentrate is often served with milk to make what we call a chai latte, whereas regular tea infusion will be drunk dark or with a little sugar… so we can’t make it simple . . -comparison with one.
Are you ready to tear your hair out? (If so, the takeaway here is that Masala Chai tea has caffeine, and if you’re looking for a caffeine-free alternative, we recommend Saratoga Red Chai!)
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However, we’ll do our best to break down the range of caffeine in tea based on how you drink it in this chart!
*Estimated caffeine levels are based on standard latte concentrations and measurements; caffeine levels will vary depending on steeping time and concentrate to milk ratio.
USDA. (n.d.). FoodData Central – Tea, hot, tea and milk. FoodData Central. Retrieved February 25, 2021, from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/1104278/nutrients Whether you are a new tea lover or just curious about this popular tea , we got the answers. Today, we’re going to explore one of the most frequently asked questions about chai: Does Chai tea contain caffeine? We’ll delve into different types of chai and discuss their caffeine content so you can make an informed decision when choosing your favorite chai blend. So please grab your favorite cup of tea and join us as we explore this fascinating topic!
Tea Tea is a popular drink around the world that has been growing in popularity in recent years. Chai is made from a combination of spices, herbs and black tea. It is usually served hot with milk and has a spicy, sweet and earthy taste.
Good Earth Sweet & Spicy Chai Tea
The origins of chai tea can be traced back to India, where it has been enjoyed for centuries. Traditional Indian Chai is made from a blend of black tea, full spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and a sweetener such as honey or sugar. This combination creates a refreshing and refreshing drink. It is said to have many health benefits, including aiding digestion and providing energy for development.
Chai has become very popular in the West, where it is often referred to as “masala.”
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