“Not my cup of Tea” A look into the different preparations of Chai (Traditional v/s Ready-made)

Making tea in the Indian household is a skill set. The earlier it is acquired and adapted, the better. According to personal experience, the ubiquitous and ritualistic preparation of this hot beverage has honestly driven me to boredom. The body is so used to this procedure that the muscle automatically reaches for the sugar, pepper and tea leaves in the shelf, retrieves the ginger from the refrigerator while filling in water in the dekchi (deep bottom steel vessel).

Image 1: Representative image of Black Tea. Source - Google Images.

Tea, having its origins well credited to the Chinese, has been very well adapted into the Indian schedule and lifestyle. There are many commercial outlets that focus solely on this beverage leading to a growth in not only coffee houses but urban tea houses too. The tapri (roadside shed) chai spots are still prevalent but are not frequented much by the crowd that often visits the gentrified tea houses and cafes. The simple, everyday beverage which requires a maximum of three ingredients to “hit the spot” has been claimed and renewed into the popular culture as a “worthy opponent” to coffee.

Thus, the focus of this article is to relocate it back to the locus of the house and the original sense of relaxation the beverage is meant to bring within one's own quarters. In my household tea has always been prepared in two ways; there may be more than two ways of preparing it but here I note down the ones that I have a personal experience with. Mind you, the tea I am well known with is black tea and red tea with a dash of ginger and some khada masala (whole spices) that surely drives the nail home. Our family has not been an avid fan of the milk and tea combination and we hold a stern belief that the concoction of tea leaves and boiled water is better and healthier.

Image 2: Traditional procedure to make Black Tea. Source - Self.

The procedure to make black/red tea the traditional way in my household involves the following ingredients - water (according to the serving one requires), sugar/jaggery, pinch of pepper, bite sized ginger (crushed with a mortar and pestle), tea leaves (your preferred brand) which are then prepared on a stovetop. First, the water is brought to a boil in a dekchi (vessel) and then simmered to add sugar/jaggery according to taste. The crushed ginger and pepper are added next and are allowed to bath for some time. The next part is a skill I learnt from my high school teacher - After a duration of 3-5 minutes the stove is turned off and half a spoon of tea leaves are added. This is done so that the leaves are not exposed to a blanching in the boiling water and thus, equally spread their color and taste making it a refreshing ‘cuppa’!

Image 3: Ready-made procedure to make Black Tea. Source - Self.

On the other hand, ready-made tea sachets are present in the house as a result of gift boxes received during special occasions. They are equally welcomed in the household as they cut down on the aforementioned step-by step procedure of tea making. For this preparation, hot water, preferably from an electric kettle, the required tea flavor sachet, a cup and honey/sugar to taste is required. Pour the required amount of water in the cup and let the tea bag soak in the water. After the required amount of dunking, add honey/sugar to taste.

The difference in these two procedures is the introduction of electronic devices such as the electric kettle and processed tea leaves with flavoring as is present in the latter case. The time factor plays a huge role in these preparations too as the urban crowd mostly does not have time for the traditional preparation of tea and opt the ready-made procedure for its ease of access and preparation. Regardless, both these procedures produce their own unique flavors and gain their favorites among people.

Image 4: At the end of the day, everyone enjoys a hot cuppa!. Source - Self.