My route with chai and specifically masala chai on the streets of India has been a long and winding one. For me, masala chai has always been about sugar and spice and all things nice( Yes, chai is the only strong gujju trait that I religiously cling on to.)

Tea is the highest beverage drunk the world over second only to water. From China to England to India to Morocco tea has left its mark on every civilization. In some ways I think it is because tea can adapt itself to many cultures and brings an inventiveness in terms of individual tastes and expression.

Coined from the word Chinese word cha, tea is about 5000 years old and masala chai is said to be an ayurvedic concoction. Anyone who has traveled through India notices the masala chai ingrained in everyday life be it round street corners, the railway stations in every little village to every major city( except maybe in the south where coffee is more popular).Kept hot in small kettles, the brewed concoction consists of black tea, milk and sugar and the famous mixes of spices or the masala.The tea is usually Assam, Darjeeling, Ceylon or Nilgiri leaves. The spices consists of cardamom, ginger, crushed pepper. Other add-ons are cloves, lemongrass and fennel. Jaggery or Gur is often used instead of sugar in villages.

The ubiquitous chaiwallah serves his chai with snacks and local gossip and a tea stall is where I have made countless acquaintances and had a number of discussions with random people. What I love while traveling especially by the Indian railway is the call of the chaiwallah early in the morning. Driving through tiny villages esp in Bihar where it is served in Khullars( clay cups) which are to be smashed to the ground once you drink the tea gets me equally excited.. Back to the earth where they came from( Instant recycling!!)
Specifically called cutting chai in Mumbai (it refers to half a glass of tea) my evening chai-time at home is my ‘quiet time with myself’ and chai shared with many friends over endless discussions especially in the monsoon is one of my favourite things in the world.

My always empty glass of cutting

P.s- For all you tea lovers do let me tell you about my close friend Mo’s story on hibiscus tea or karkady sometime…