Chai tea is a delicious drink which has been enjoyed all over the world for thousands of years. It’s no wonder that is has it’s own day, National Chai Day!
National Chai Day falls annually on September 21, and celebrates this spiced tea beverage. It’s one of the many tea themed national days during the year.
The best way to celebrate this September 21 national day is to enjoy a cup of chai. You can make it yourself with our homemade chai tea recipe at the bottom of this post.
Keep reading to learn the history of this national day, fun facts, the origin of chai tea and more!
National days of the year are a fun way to foods, drinks and items that you come into contact with. Be sure to check out this national days guide to learn why we celebrate them.
History of National Chai Day
On September 21, 2018, a company called Somrus founded National Chai Day. The national drink day has been celebrated on September 21, every year since.
Somrus, which translates from Sanskrit to English to mean “nectar of the gods”, is a highly awarded Indian-inspired cream liqueur brand.
The first product they developed was a chai cream liqueur. It consists of Caribbean rum, Wisconsin diary cream, and a blend of eastern spices.
In addition to their chai cream liqueur, which inspired National Chai Day, they also have a coffee cream liqueur and a mango cream liqueur.
Origin of chai tea
While National Chai Day was founded in 2018, the history of chai is much older. According to legend, Chai originated in India 5,000-9,000 years ago.
It was said that a King during that time created chai as an Ayurvedic beverage. Ayurveda is a type of medicine which uses herbal remedies (among other holistic practices) to encourage whole body healing.
Early chai was not caffeinated; it contained a flavorful spice blend but didn’t include tea leaves. It was served both hot and cold, and was believed to be a cure for certain illnesses.
Though tea plants had grown in the Assam region in India for centuries, British colonization in India introduced tea drinking as a more recreational practice, instead of a medicinal one.
How to celebrate National Chai Day
Would you like to celebrate National Chai Day in a special way? Try one of these ideas.
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- Make the homemade chai tea recipe at the bottom of this post, to enjoy a hot cup of chai.
- Light a chai scented candle to enjoy the aroma of chai even after you’ve finished your cup of tea.
- Go out to a coffee shop and order a cup of chai tea, or a chai tea latte.
- Get a new mug with a strainer to enjoy chai at home.
- Read a book about the history of chai, like Chai: The Experience of Indian Tea.
Chai tea spices
Chai recipes vary, but most homemade chai tea recipes are made from black tea, water, milk and sugar and a mixture of chai tea spices.
The chai tea spices usually include cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns, and ginger. Some homemade chai recipes also include fennel, nutmeg, coriander or star anise.
Chai facts
Observe National Chai Day by brushing up on your knowledge of the drink with these fascinating chai facts. Some may surprise you!
- While commonly called “chai tea”, the term is actually redundant. Chai translates from Hindi to mean tea, so calling chai “chai tea” would be the same as calling it “tea tea”.
- Unlike some other types of tea, chai is caffeinated due to its base of black tea.
- If you order a “dirty chai” at a coffee shop, you’re ordering a chai tea latte with a shot of espresso added.
- Masala chai translates to mean “spiced tea”, and refers to the spice blend used in chai recipes.
- In India, there are street vendors who specialize in tea. Their profession is called “chaiwala” literally translating to mean tea vendor.
Share this homemade chai tea recipe for National Chai Day with your friends on twitter:
If you enjoyed learning about the origin of chai tea, don’t forget to this homemade chai recipe for with your friends. Here’s a tweet to get you started:
Celebrate National Chai Day by making our homemade chai tea recipe, on Always the Holidays! ✨ #ChaiRecipe #NationalChaiDay Share on XMore September 21 national days
Did you enjoy learning about National Chai Day? Well you’re in luck, September 21 is host to more than just one national day!
Here is a complete list of all the September 21 national days:
- National Chai Day
- World Gratitude Day
- National Pecan Cookie Day
- National New York Day
- National Day of Civic Hacking
- Batman Day
- Pause the World Day
- World Alzheimer’s Day
More national days in September
There are close to 2000 national days in the year and over 150 of them are national days in September. There are even September monthly observances celebrated all month long.
If you enjoy doing puzzles, be sure to also check out the September word search printable which features many of the national days hidden in a word find puzzle.
Is food your thing? Each day of the month has a food or drink associated with it, too. You’ll find all the September food holidays here.
Be sure to also check out these national days this month:
- National Guacamole Day – Get a recipe for homemade guacamole to celebrate this national food day in September.
- National Hot Cross Bun Day – Even though they are a traditional Easter bread, hot cross buns aren’t only celebrated in the spring – they also have a national day in September!
- National Fortune Cookie Day – Make no-sew fortune cookies to celebrate this national day that occurs in both July and September.
- National White Chocolate Day – Get a list of tasty white chocolate recipes to celebrate this chocolate themed national day.
- National Chocolate Milk Day – Learn who invented chocolate milk and get easy homemade chocolate milk recipe to celebrate this September drink day.
Pin this post on National Chai Day for later
Would you like a reminder of this post for National Chai Day? Just pin this image to one of your national day boards on Pinterest so that you can easily find it later.
Make sure to check out our YouTube video for more food and drink related September national days.
National Chai Day on September 21 is a great excuse to make homemade chai, but this recipe is so tasty, you'll be wanting to make chai every day! The homemade chai tea recipe below makes two mugs of chai tea, but you can always adjust it if you're making chai for more people. *Aerating the chai is optional, but recommended. It makes the chai taste creamier by breaking down the layer of cream that has formed on top and incorporating it back into the chai. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. Nutritional information is approximate due to natural variation in ingredients and the cook-at-home nature of our meals.Chai Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Recommended Products
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 92Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 69mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 5g 
About the author
Since graduating from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Jess has been living and working in Los Angeles, CA. She is a freelance writer, specializing in content related to fashion, food and drink and film industry topics. Find out more about Jess here.