By Alok Joshi
Chai or tea is not only an inseparable part of Indian culture, it is ultimately a way of life. Chai is almost an emotion. Like other emotions, it has a strong connection with the heart. It is a perfectly warming way to start the day with a hot cup of tea. Offering tea in our homes symbolises warmth and hospitality. On the contrary, we have all heard the innocent complaints of our mothers or aunts like “Usne to chai tak nahin poochhi!”
The discovery of tea dates back over 5000 years to China. According to a popular legend, it was accidentally discovered by a Chinese emperor who liked his drinking water to be boiled. One day, while his servant was boiling water for him, a dead leaf from a wild tea bush fell into the water. The emperor enjoyed the infused water so much that he researched the plant and found it possessed great medicinal properties.
It is said that the British introduced tea to India in the 19th century to overcome the Chinese monopoly in tea production. The East India Company began large-scale production of tea in Assam. They also introduced their style of drinking tea with milk and sugar. Cinnamon, ginger, cardamom flavored tea evolved with palates over time. So, the original and simple cup of tea turned creamier with sweet and spicy flavors to invoke the senses.
During my years in China, I observed that unlike India, they did not have low-end tea stalls. Their fancy tea houses were like five-star hotel lounges where specialty tea was pretty expensive. Such places were frequented more by business people or young couples looking for privacy. However, every Chinese colleague of mine had some kind of tea on their desks which they sipped with hot water the whole day. Chinese girls preferred flower tea because it is supposed to be good for a beautiful skin. Every company had a room in the office dedicated to dispensing hot water. They did not add milk or sugar in their tea and avoided it because they said it caused insomnia. To my surprise, all the coffee shops in big cities like Starbucks and Costa Coffee were always full. They had become new hubs for social interaction and status symbols amongst the westernised younger generation.
We Indians have grown up drinking and enjoying countless cups of this sweet concoction over the years. Love for tea has crossed borders in a big way. Many young Indian entrepreneurs have quit jobs to move into the tea business in North America and other countries to cater to the growing demand for tea.
An average Indian home wakes up every morning to hot tea served from the family kitchen. This national drink is also a family drink. One cannot imagine an office without an arrangement to serve tea to its employees or customers. Howsoever hot the temperatures may be, tea is always on the menu. One reason for its popularity is that it is affordable even to the poorest. Chai has a ubiquitous presence in our lives. Sometimes to say “no” to chai could be construed as being impolite. Chai start-ups are mushrooming in the country. We all have heard of “MBA Chaiwala”. Then we see Chaayos, Chai Sutta Bar, Chai Thela, Chai Point and so on. Masala tea is served on domestic and even some international flights.
I used to work in the Mumbai office and our company building had a canteen. The Canteen Manager found it impossible to serve over 200 employees with his limited staff. Most of his workers were eternally busy serving tea to employees whereas he wanted to focus on making money by serving breakfast and lunch. He decided to make such bad tea that people like me stopped drinking tea in office. I am sure many others would have done so. Then I had a boss who used to bring two big flasks of home-made tea every day to office. For another boss, tea was a special ritual. He would serve tea only in the best of cutlery, with tea kettle, cup and saucer.
Chai is a social lubricant. It makes social gatherings lively and people more communicative. Whenever I visit Chandigarh (the city I grew up in), having tea from the chaiwala who gives awesome ginger and cardomom tea under his make-shift spot under a huge banyan tree for just ten rupees is a “must-do” for me. In Dehradun, my most enjoyable past-time is to head towards Rajpur village on a rainy day and enjoy a hot cup of roadside tea with spicy pakoras. It reminds me of childhood days when we would pause our hikes in the small tea stalls of Garhwal hills.
Different people have different preferences about the way they want their tea. Some like it piping hot, some don’t. Some like without milk and sugar, others with lemon and honey. I am a bit fussy about my tea. For me, it should come out hot with the right colour after adding milk. In fact, I like to prepare my own ginger tea with the required amount of milk and jaggery powder. If tea is offered to me, I generally request sugar on the side. One of my all-time evening favorites is Lopchu Orange Pekoe Darjeeling tea.
Just as there is no right time to drink chai, there is no one recipe or one single way to brew it. The world may have shifted to fancier versions like chamomile or peppermint tea or even chai latte, but the fact remains that there is nothing better than a simple cup of chai prepared at home with love. Most definitely, our love affair with tea shall continue forever. After all, there must be something special in this drink. A billion people cannot be wrong!
(Alok Joshi is an HR Advisor, motivational speaker, freelance writer and author of two books including “12 Sweet & Sour Years in China”).
