Tea Culture in India

 Tea culture in INDIA

Child enjoying chai in Haridwar.

Tea only became a national beverage in India during the 19th century, after the British began to create large-scale tea plantations to satisfy their country’s growing thirst. Even though it’s one of the world’s biggest suppliers of tea, this relatively recent conversion means that India has not yet had time to develop long-standing rituals or ceremonies such as those found in China and Japan.

That said, they do drink their tea – cha-ya or chai – in a certain way, and they really love to drink tea. Most often, chai is a thick, strong black tea that is spiced with cardamom, fennel seeds, ginger, cloves, and other spices, sweetened, and boiled in milk. Everyone has their own favorite recipes that are passed down from generation to generation. Pretty much every street will have its chai wallah, a street vendor who will serve passers-by with his own special brew alongside savory snacks, such as samosas.

A chai wallah pouring tea in Mysore.

Chai has now become a popular beverage in the Western world. No self-respecting coffee bar would be complete without an offering of chai or chai latte as they are often called. Nothing can really beat the authentic homemade version of chai, but sadly, because of the time involved in preparing those served in Western coffee shops are often sugary, powdered inferior versions of this Indian classic or are simply plain tea ‘spiced up with the addition of a liquid concentrate. Not so nice, after all.

Tea and spices for chai preparation.

Who knew?

Chai vendors serve their wares in small clay pots, which are smashed on the floor after each use – well, it certainly saves on the washing up! Clay pot wallahs can throw a clay pot for chai in 8 seconds flat! They are half-baked and biodegradable – the monsoon rains and baking hot sun soon cause the pots to disintegrate into the soil.