Writing Project#2 Final Draft
Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. ~ Thich Nat Hahn
India -a country which loves it's Chai (Tea)
India is known as a land of cultures ,food and history.
But I'll will introduce you to India -a land that loves it's chai aka Tea.In India, chai is more than just a cup of tea to start the day - the thick sweet drink is an integral part of the rhythm of life. Originating in India, the beverage has gained worldwide popularity, becoming a feature in many coffee and tea houses.
ASSOCHAM report released in December, 2011, stated India, as the world’s largest consumer of tea uses nearly 30 percent of the global output.
Let me take you to the journey of India through a cuppa of tea .If you have ever been in India ,it would be hard not see Small tea vendors in every small nook of the whole country.Selling the tea at a modest price.
The love for this humble beverage is common in millions of people in India.
According to Wikipedia Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to Asia. But let me tell you that Tea in India is more than combination of ingredients and herbs .It's the exhilarating love for this drink that millions of people in India choose this as there number one drink.
Tea is India's most popular drink - the country consumes 837,000 tonnes of it every year. The ritual of drinking chai transcends all boundaries, and roadsides are dotted with chai wallahs who serve it boiled up with spices, sugar and milk.Millions people in India whether Rich or poor start there day with there own version of tea .Every family in India has a slight different versions of this drink and they prefer it that way.
India doesn't only drinks it's cuppa also they export the tea.Traditional Indian kitchens have long utilised the medicinal benefits offered by various plants and spices such as holy basil (Tulsi), cardamom (Elaichi),pepper (Kali Mirch), liquorice (Mulethi),mint (Pudina), etc., and traditionally, teas made with these plant leaves or spices have been in use for centuries for maladies ranging from the serious to the trifling. Tea is also mixed with these traditional herbs. The taste of chai (sweet and milky) helps disguise the stronger and more bitter flavours of some of the medicinal additives, while other, more pleasant flavours such as cardamom and ginger add a pleasing flavour and aroma to the tea along with health benefits
According to the reports ,India is the second largest producer of tea in the world after China.Consumption of tea in India was first clearly documented in the Ramayana(750-500 BCE). For the next thousand years, documentation of tea in India was lost in history. Records re-emerge during the first century CE, with stories of the Buddhist monks Bodhidharmaand Gan Lu, and their involvement with tea. Research shows that tea is indigenous to eastern and northern India, and was cultivated and consumed there for thousands of years. Commercial production of tea in India did not begin until the arrival of theBritish East India Company, at which point large tracts of land were converted for mass tea production.A popular ingredient in north Indian chai, ginger is believed to have numerous health benefits and is thought to keep your body warm in winter. The spicy root has been used in hot, milk-based beverages in India for hundreds of years, so when the British popularised tea in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, adding ginger to the mix was a natural thing to do.
My family truly love their Chai ,we start our day with big cups to tea and sometimes we even end our day with tea.Any guest who enters the house doesn't leaves the house without a cup of masala chai.Being born in such a household,the love for tea is predominant from a very young age for me.
To describe the immense importance chai plays in my life, I quote the following words of William Ewart Gladstone:
"If you are cold, tea will warm you;
if you are too heated, it will cool you;
If you are depressed, it will cheer you;
If you are excited, it will calm you.”
My family truly love their Chai ,we start our day with big cups to tea and sometimes we even end our day with tea.Any guest who enters the house doesn't leaves the house without a cup of masala chai.Being born in such a household,the love for tea is predominant from a very young age for me.
To describe the immense importance chai plays in my life, I quote the following words of William Ewart Gladstone:
"If you are cold, tea will warm you;
if you are too heated, it will cool you;
If you are depressed, it will cheer you;
If you are excited, it will calm you.”
It would be unfair not to mention the Chai wallahs i.e the street vendors who sell tea on every nook of the country. They are the once who keep the age old traditions of serving tea in kulhad .(Cups made of mud) Chai stands are often family businesses spanning many generations. The various tea vendors I interviewed told me that they have many loyal locals who come to their stall daily for there quick fix . One thing what astonished me while researching on Masala Chai was that there are zillion variations , and every other tasted better than the previous one.
Most chai contains caffeine typically 1/3 that of coffee (if made with a black tea base). The tea leaves steep in the hot water long enough to extract intense flavour, ideally without releasing the bitter tannins. Because of the large range of possible variations, masala chai can be considered a class of tea rather than a specific kind. However, all masala chai has four basic components: milk, sugar, cardamom, and ginger.
I would like to cite one more example to depict the popularism of Tea in India .Due to globalisation ,many coffee giants opened there Cafe in India but immense popularity of Chai ,compelled them to introduce a chai varient on their menu ,Chai Latte .A combination of Chai and Coffee.It's a hit among locals.
Masala Chai has so many benefits, it helps in curing cold and fever.
I still remember when I fell really sick ,my mum made a big cup of tea with lots of ginger .And I instantly was rejuvenated by the tea.
Another health benefits it posses are that it's anti inflammatory,beats fatigue ,boost metabolism ,prevents diabetes etc.etc.
Tea is not just a beverage ,it's way of living.Men discuss politics over there cuppa , Woman gossip and chit -chat over tea.Tea is omnipresent .I couldn't fathom how a small cup erase long bridges between the people .But truly it does and I couldn't agree more.
Truly I am proud to belong to a country which loves its Chai .
“There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life.”
― Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living
You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~ C.S Lewis