Sunday, May 06, 2012

Tea, Chai, Chaha, Chaya, Çay...

We have a tussle at home..my sister and I, who can sleep five minutes longer than the other so that whoever wakes up first makes chai...Now at home, we pampered brats don't mind the time we have to wake up...Amma's hot piping cup of tea appears five minutes after we deign to leave the bedroom to register our attendance at the breakfast table.

For years, I was a coffee snob. I thought tea too plebian and never allowed to let Amma tease my palate with her strongly brewed chaya with milk ( we Malayalis don't understand chai :). So there, in a household of mom, me, sis and the grandparents ( and occasionally Dad in the growing years, when he was home on leave) I was the coffee-brat. A jar of instant coffee was always in the cupboard and hot piping milk kept ready for me to spoon in coffee and gulp it down before leaving for school or college. However, Amma, in no mood to take my separate nonsense started coaxing me to try chai when guests would visit and she'd slip in an extra cup...Now when a young adult is served tea in the guest-cups (which are the pretty ones and rarely taken out normally for the family), you gulp it down, even if it is an Ayurvedic potion. A couple of similar gulps down the line and a heady dose of laziness (who wants to make the effort of brewing their own cup of morning coffee when tea is served to you), I was a convert...a devout chaya- guzzler from a hesitant gulper...

And now over, the period of my sojourn abroad and across India, I have realised Tea by any other name is just as much fun...All I don't agree with the Indians on, is the heaps of sugar used in every round of tea served. If I could regulate that in mine, I am a happy soul and can take down umpteen numbers of the above mentioned through the day. Here again, Amma drinks tea at most once a day, in the evening after her afternoon nap. I can drink it whenever I am served it while Dad thrives on a steady supply of tannin through his numerous cups to keep him buzzing like an Energiser bunny through the day.

Each place has its own unique brew. In Mumbai, it is sacrilege not to try the cutting chai. So yes, it might be a bit difficult for non-street food lovers to have a go at the hastily washed cutting glasses and see the brown liquid carelessly splashed into the containers..but once you have the first sip of the masala infused cutting, you'd realise nothing else matters...

The Kerala chayakada (tea shop) (which the joke runs that you find even on the Moon) serves you a variety that is different...much much different from the home brew...more milkier, less brown ( the economy of tea making does not really allow for brown brown tea that takes up quite some amount of tea leaves)But see the process of how it is made and you cannot resist having a go...(that reminds me, tea seems to be a favourite topic with me..I have blogged about it earlier too, while living in England and missing the glorious chai/chaya of India ( just click on chai/chaya, in case you are a tea maniac like me too who loves to read an ode to it)

Chai made at home, hmmm..no one beats Amma, my sister comes close ( or that's what I say so that it is an added incentive for her to brew it at home most of the time, some flattery goes a long way, you see!)

And now for the firangi tastes...I love the subtle Chinese teas.. the anti-weight gain green tea is definitely an acquired taste, but tea served with most Chinese meals is a lovely palate cleanser.

I resisted the English tea for months, till I succumbed to the lures of a well-brewed Earl Grey. And that's about all I like despite elaborate tea services in tea rooms across England. You cannot mask a weak tea that is then murdered with a blob of milk or cream with an elaborate tea service in delicate china can you? But the scones, clotted cream and jam served with tea, does make up for the awful apology of what is called fine English tea.


And then I land in Turkey, where tea is called  Çay and pronounced like our desi chai..(any wonder how the Persian influence runs through cultures). Now tea-drinking is the national passion of the Turkish. For those, not really thrilled about the tannin-tasting black tea going down your throat, there is always the pleasant apple tea ( usually sugared, served in typical Turkish tea tumblers) or fruit teas to make you believe you are a tea drinker. But if you are a tea addict, then you must try this..this is the way they serve tea. The metal teapot on the top contains a really strong tea brew and the larger teapot below has hot piping water. You pour in your combination into the tea tumbler, sit by the Bosphorus and talk life, love and philosophy...And think to yourself...this is what life is truly about...

21 comments:

  1. An ode of the finest order to our national brew. I hate Earl Gray by the way. Love my own verson of chai brewed with ginger and lots of sugar :P

    And jasmine tea! that is heaven :)

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    1. :) I love the way our preferences for tea are so customised and personalised. While coffee ends up being kind of like a uniform thought...unless you are thinking of Barista or Costa and their million exotic styles. :) But must say, your coffee is a world apart! I wouldn't mind selling tea's soul for it..:p

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  2. I have never tried Earl grey...will do now.I oscillate between tea and coffee depending on my mood and the weather.

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    1. Alka, the flavour of Earl Grey is delicate and comes through, but I like to try any tea for the first time without milk. However, most Indians think of non-milky tea as an attempt at worldly pretentiousness..:) So there, I give you the option and the way it should be tried! Rest I leave it to you..:)

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    2. In India only those who are 'worldly wise' and very poor drink black tea. The latter because they can't afford milk! (I have had to gulp down cups of black tea served by many of these people so lovingly and with a thousand apologies because they don't have milk to add.)

      And so the middle class thinks it is not for them :D

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    3. Ha, that's true isn't it?? but black tea with lemon and sugar is sooo yummy. I'd rather be poor and drinking that, than milky chai all day long..:)and I love 'kattan chaya' like Malayalis call black tea! :) and there are so many short eats served with it like parippuvada..Yummm yummmm

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  3. Chayaaa... I was grinning when I read that! Didn't know about the Turkish tea.
    My dad is the best tea maker in the house. In the mornings I whiz by his room, knowing full well he is a light sleeper cause I want my morning tea! Its the middle of a hot sunday afternoon and I had just asked for a cup before reading this post! So Strange! :)

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    1. Hahaha, I hope you read savoured the post more because of the impending wait for some chaya..:) Btw, the Turkish guzzle down tea just the way Malayalis do. :) My favourite which I missed out is the Suleimani..:)How could I forget the Arabs who took the Indian teas to foreign lands?

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  4. Oh! My love is the masala chai you get in Burrabazar, Calcutta. The typical cal tea must be served in an earthen cup with masala and garnished with kesar. Its D'lish! :)

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    1. Never had the Kolkata masala chai..you make it sound like a must must try..:) The next time my Bengali friends head home, I know what I'll make a list out for!! :)

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  5. I am a tea addict. Serve me tea at any time of the day(or night) I will never refuse. No modesty, I make amazing adrak wali chai :-)

    Since you were in UK as well, did you ever visit Bath? The Jane Austen museum there, serve a proper English breakfast. Which includes, cucumber sandwiches and tea served in tea pots. Each one has to order separate pots for themselves. Sharing is looked down to. Also, there serve so little portions of milk, and sgar cubes. But the entire experience is so English like, that is totally transports you to the era of Jane Austen. Expensive, but totally worth the experience. Small tables with white lace table cloth. Very English!

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    1. Jenny: You will love my next post...you wait and watch..:) I assure you, you will love it..:D

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    2. Awaiting Awaiting :-)

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    3. Hope the wait was worth it..;)

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  6. Tea is my tipple. It is milder than coffee. My first sip in the morning is sheer heaven. Am partial to adrak and jasmine teas but English breakfast (made in India, SriLanka or the Middle East) is my favourite. Luckily we get Dilmah from Sri Lanka where I stay.

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    1. Someone recently told me that the Chinese sip tea through their meal because the hot tea breaks the heavy solid food down, making digestion easier..while creamy milky colder beverages make you sluggish after a meal. Don't know if its a Chinese conspiracy, but experience says there's some truth there!

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  7. Dilmah makes great teas, I personally love the Orange Pekoe..:) I remember bringing back kilos of tea for Amma the last time I was in SL on work and they liked the flavour so much that all my friends travelling on business or pleasure to Colombo now have a standing order - to get back as much tea as they can..:)

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  8. I am a coffee if its filter and made by Amma/MIL..

    Otherwise, I prefer a typical Gujju chai with home made chai masala made of lemon grass, ginger, pepper and clove...its superb..come to Mumbai and I will serve you :)

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    1. I'd do anything for filter kaapi..:) Hmmm...gujju chai is too milky for me, even with all the masala..but Rs mom didnt you know I'm based in Mumbai..its true I travel a lot, but the base as of now is Mum of the bai...:D

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  9. I too have a weakness of Chai with ginger like Zephyr! The story of chai can go in as Kashmiri Kahwa, Jasmine, and many more variants are unique! Always nice to learn from your sweet posts, Deepthy:)

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    1. I really missed out on the Kahwa...In fact, your reminder about the kahwa made me order it today at a cafe I'd been sitting in in Khan Market in Delhi..:) and did it feel good or no!! :) I'm so glad you are enjoying this crazy Life 365 series! :)

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