Happy International Tea Day

The Chai Subculture

I am not sure that the concept of chai as a beverage can be translated for a Western audience who think of tea as this calming, nutritious drink that allows you to pause and reflect during the hub-bub of the city life.

You could probably equate the concept of Indian chai that you might call chai-latte or chai tea (ugh!) with that of black coffee. The difference is, although a drink that is supposed to jolt you into action, chai is also spiced and concocted to be delicious. It is both a drink of leisure and a rise-and-shine fuel.

When the British brought the tea culture to India, they tried hard with their free tea stalls on railway stations. It was difficult to assimilate it with the Indian populace which had its own favourite beverages of choice at that time. Tea was prepared delicately with the slow brewing of dried leaves in warm water. And at that lukewarm temperature, the leaves left their mild colours into the water. To brighten the brown hues, some milk was added. Sugar was added to balance the bitterness. And that was it.

But that was not it for Indians. We hated the concept of wastage. We were a land that had a large chunk of population below the poverty line. Even the bitter tea leaves were not left alone. There had to be a better way to use every drop of their bitter nectar…