Chai Spices in Indian Tradition and Ayurveda: Ginger, Cardamom, Tulsi and More

Ayurveda, from ayur (life) and veda (knowledge), describes the body in terms of three energies or doshas: Vata (air and space), Pitta (fire and water) and Kapha (earth and water), and frames food, season and daily routine around keeping them in balance.

Seasons matter in this way of thinking. As our 2025 winter post put it, Ayurveda links the cold months with Vata and Kapha, and answers with warmth and “grounding rituals.” The winter chais in that post were built on tulsi, ginger, cinnamon, ashwagandha and licorice.

Much of this was handed down at home rather than in books. Vinayak Varma, writing for our blog, described Indian tea as “a million different modes of preparation,” involving “not just tea leaves but the addition of ginger and cardamom and pepper and licorice and almonds and cloves.”

Our blog has told the story both ways over the years, so here is the version we stand by. A popular legend tells of a healing spiced beverage used in Ayurveda, a drink “now popularly known as ‘kadha.’ However, it contained no Camellia sinensis.”

Tea itself came later. After tea began to be grown at scale in Assam and Darjeeling, mostly for Europe, it was “in the early 1900s that Indian travelers and traders from Bengal and Gujarat, with better access to milk and spices, started to blend them with tea leaves.” Read the whole story in The Journey of Our Beloved Chai, or see The history of chai in India.

Ajwain row: our staff training manual lists it among chai spices; “pungent and bitter” is Keen’s description for our blog in 2017.

• Rajasik: Rajasik, a morning chai, uses ginger, black pepper, tulsi and green cardamom.
• Rasayana: Rasayana, an evening chai, uses ashwagandha, turmeric, licorice, green cardamom, cinnamon and star anise. It is sold for the evening but is made with black tea, so it does contain caffeine.
• Ashoka Ras: Ashoka Ras blends rose, licorice, ginger, cardamom and cinnamon: floral first, gently spiced underneath.
• Ojas Ras: Assam CTC black tea with spearmint, lemongrass, nutmeg and ginger.
• Abhay Ras: hibiscus, amla, tulsi and bay leaf, with no tea leaf, so it is caffeine-free.

When we launched an Ayurvedic Chai Sampler in 2025, we described it as ten chais “with 100% real spices, herbs and florals.” The ones made with tea leaf carry a High caffeine rating on our product pages, like any strong chai. For a single-herb cup, see Tulsi (holy basil) tea.

If that may be you, check with your doctor before making them a daily habit. We are happy to share the full ingredient list of any of our chais to help that conversation. Read the ingredients rather than the name: an evening chai can still be built on black tea, as Rasayana is.