чай

чай

Tea.

In this sentence, 'чай' refers to the beverage tea (green tea specifically).

Я люблю пить зеленый чай утром.

I like drinking green tea in the morning.

Here, 'чай' is used to denote the action of drinking tea as a social activity after a meal.

Мы попьем чай после обеда.

We will have some tea after lunch.

In this case, 'чая' is the genitive form of 'чай,' indicating possession of or relating to the box's contents (tea).

На полке лежит коробка чая.

There is a box of tea on the shelf.