Whittard Chelsea Teas

TEA Speciality teas from all four corners of the globe, from classic breakfast teabags to luxurious loose leaf tea. CHAI FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THEIR SPICE.

In the streets of Mumbai, you'll be offered glasses of steaming hot chai steeped in shed-loads of sugar. The classic brew of the subcontinent was first inspired by the tradition of Ayurveda, an ancient Hindu healing practice which uses a combination of herbs, spices and sweeteners to cure the body - black tea wasn't added to the blend until the British established the first tea plantations in Assam in the 1830s. Our take on the Bombay brew is a spicy blend of black tea, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves, with creamy pieces of vanilla and a pinch of chilli for an invigorating kick - add a topping of frothy milk and a spoonful of honey and you'll have yourself a chai latte.

The word 'chai' means tea in many languages, deriving from the Mandarin Chinese ‘chá'. The first English record of the word dates back to 1615 when an English merchant sent a letter to Macao requesting ‘the very best sort of chaw'. We're not sure if his request was met with success, but we've given this tea the number 615 nevertheless