Which tea to drink this Halloween?

Which tea to drink this Halloween will determine whether you are a human or a vampire. If you are still doubt full which side you fall in lets list down what can be preferred and this might help you to decide.

Humans:

As human, we find our preference more towards the robust black tea which warms us as the weather becomes frosty and days flee by soon. We would prefer this tea all year round but especially when the icy winds starts to blow.

Black tea truly enjoyed with masala chai, you can see the recipes here and also enjoyed with many other flavors like with ginger and cardamon, lemongrass etc. We like our tea to be flavored with these spices which is must for our Indian taste buds.

Vampires:

You remember what Dracula drinks? A cup of red liquid, which is called as blood. But what if he decides to drink tea, which tea he will prefer? We assume he would go for a red tea also known as rooibos tea.



Ghost:



We assume ghost will prefer his choice of color, i.e white tea with perhaps a hind of paranormal activity.





Zombie:


To match zombies character, we believe green tea will definitely go well with its tainted and gaunt look. Yellow might work well considering its look.

Werewolf:

Somehow we can just point out pu-erh tea for werewolf that seems to be bold and full of earthy flavors.





Dragon:

Aaeem...we don't what dragon might prefer because they don't have to think about getting cold.

How to drink your cup of tea?

Image Source: http://goo.gl/0WkIh

You might answer to this question by saying " i drink chai because i like the taste!" OR "it refreshens me". But have you really tasted how do you like your tea to be? Sweetened with sugar or lemon, milk or honey? Do you like to have a your tea as a "real tea" or as a "beverage"? We are very particular about the brand we use for our cup of chai, but have you tried your tea without the sweetener to really know how it is to get a hint of pureness within? From a leaf to a cup, your tea is picked, sorted, processed and then brewed. All these efforts are for you to enjoy your cup of chai or tea.

Most of us do not really observe because our final cuppa is much more vital. But then lets see how we can respect and enjoy each aspect of this wonderful drink in just 5 steps:

1. Lets start with the aroma. Notice the dry tea leaf aroma and see if you can pick up the ingredients mentioned in the tea. What do smell the first? Is it the the tea or the flavors? Is the smell of the flavor more pungent than the other ?
2. After smelling, check on the texture and color of the tea? Are the leaves curled or rolled? A sign of good tea are those where the presence of curled or rolled leaves are more than the dust of tea (finely ground tea that are present in tea bags.) Is the color of the dust and rolled leaves similar or different? 
3. Next is, brew just as mentioned for a particular tea without the sweetener. Smell the brewing tea. Dry and brewing tea smells different, especially some flavors are noted only when the tea is brewed. 
4. After hitting your senses constantly, observe the color.Notably, how black leaf turns your tea to a reddish tint and green tea giving it a pale yellow color as it brews stronger. 
5. Finally , when your tea is ready to drink, taste it. In spite of gulping it down, take a sip at a time. Can you taste the ingredients in it? Does it leave your mouth a drying effect or is it refreshing? Which flavors stands out and how is the overall tea?

After experiencing the real taste of tea, you can now go ahead with adding sugar or milk or honey etc if needed. You get many tea which are naturally flavored with fruits, herbs, spices and adding sweetener wont be welcoming. With this knowledge in mind, hope you take care of these things next time you make yourself a cup of chai tea.

And lastly, allow me to enclose with a quote by LU TONG:

The first cup caresses my dry lips and throat,
The second shatters the walls of my loneliness,
The third explores the dry rivulets of my soul
Searching for legends of five thousand scrolls.
With the fourth the pain of past injustice vanishes through my pores.
The fifth purifies my flesh and bone.
With the sixth I commune with the immortals.
The seventh conveys such pleasure I am overcome.
The fresh wind blows through my wings
As I make my way through my cup of chai....

Chai Love in India

"Ek cutting chai, malai marke", "Chotu, ek paani kum chai".. A very common dialogue heard on the tapris and a nearby chai shops. But isn't it weird  in a country where tea is consumed in an unimaginable numbers, coffee shops  exist more than chai shops. Cant believe it? Lets go through some number right from the tea board of India:

Growers & Area: http://www.teaboard.gov.in/pdf/stat/Growers%20&%20Area.pdf
Production: http://www.teaboard.gov.in/pdf/stat/Production.pdf
Imports: http://www.teaboard.gov.in/pdf/stat/Imports.pdf
Tea Consumption: http://www.teaboard.gov.in/pdf/stat/Tea%20Consumption.pdf
Tea Prices: http://www.teaboard.gov.in/pdf/stat/Tea%20Prices.pdf

To summon it all:
Production :  966.73 Million Kgs.
Exports: 192.87 Million Kgs
Consumption: 856 Million Kgs
Imports: 18.60 Million Kgs

In the world's second-largest tea producing country , you will find 10 coffee shops whereas a chai cafe is a rare view of the site. Indians drink 8 cups of tea minimum a day, and still it is difficult to find chai cafe which is clean, hygienic and serves the best cup of chai. This can only happen in India.

After some online research we found people do not mind spending even few thousand bucks on chai, provided its clean, hygiene and just chai and not chai latte. In fact different flavors of black tea or green tea will be welcome in the land full of tea. 20,0000 different ways of making chai and we haven't even tasted 10 of it, how does that make a country second largest consumer of tea?

No matter what other think or say, the main problem of chai is the image which has set in the market since so many years. A cutting chai which is sold at the tapri for 5 rs will be preferred more than that of a masala chai in kullarh which is spotless and in a clean setting. The debate here is, will these middle or upper middle class prefer 45 bucks more over 5 rs?

Well, people don't mind spending that cost if they are warmly served chai without loosing the essence of chai in a modern set up. Our youth are more attracted towards coffee, that is because of the image formed and the set up they are provided, and may be this is the reason why Starbucks announced to enter the competitive market in India with 50 outlets.

Few engineers and company are creating the presence of chai cafe that provides clean and hygienic as well as variety of chai in one go. There are handful of upscale cafe coming up  where a glass of tea costs less than one-fifth the cost of a cappuccino at coffee shops. We hope that all the chai lovers get to try and fuel their love towards this welcoming drink. Chai should be not leave its essence of being chai, it will loose its identity if it enters the line of sophistication.

The Indian Tea Blend called Chai

The flavor of chai takes you back to colonial India and then back again to some more history of tea. The essence of chai is black tea blended with aromatic and sinful spices, steeped in milk and sweeteners as required. The color denotes the strength of the chai and the aroma definitely pulls you towards more than just one cup of tea. 

Lets discuss the amazing cleansing tea found its way to the world and in India and the soon going to be the national drink of India.

Origin of Chai
The word chai actually means tea in Russia and India. It is also known as masala chai, i.e a blend of spices along with black tea, all over the world. Since 5000 years, tea is delighting people in various ways, but earlier it was just used for medicinal purpose. The British East India Company then discovered the camellia Assam tea in India and started cultivating tea plantation locally for their own market . 

By 1900, Assam teas took place in Great Britain's heart of tea from India. They were steeped in  various spice and created a unique taste of masala chai recipe. Chai is prepared in almost 20,000 variation each with different taste, experience and immense health benefits.

Despite such use of tea, the consumption of tea in India was low. To stimulate chai habit and to grow the consumption rate, the British Tea Association encouraged mines, textiles and factories to introduce tea time or chaitime for their employers. Slowly and steadily, chai became the integral part of everyone's life and the culture today have taken over the life of all the Indians. You will find tapris in each and every corner of the turning of India. A street or a city without a handful of chaiwallahs looses the essence of being a part of India. Even a normal person today drinks minimum 4 cups of chai everyday. 

If you are not able to recall the chai-wallahs, you can see a glimpse id chai-wallah in Slumdog Millionaire where Dev Patel as Jamal playing the role of chai-wallah as Jamal for Indian support Centre in Mumbai.

Image Source: http://goo.gl/Fdizl

Acquired taste of tea

We simply love the combination of masala chai and a crisp packed biscuit. Dipping biscuits in chai and gulping it down your throat to feel a slight hint of spices and the sweetness of the biscuit feels just right to please your roaring  stomach in mid afternoon.



For years now, Parle G has been an unofficial national biscuit which goes along with any flavor of the chai and best suited for creating a"Chatime memory". It is a life savor for some, and for some it is knight in shining armor. How? Well, now that's a story of every individual and depends completely on their experience .  

Birth of Tea in India

In 1598, a traveler from Dutch, Jan Huyghen van Linschoten noted his adventures in India and mentioned a special brewed drink Indians prepared by boiling tea leaves, garlic, oil and served as healthy drink. These leaves are grown in the wildest forest of Assam. While Indians were less aware of the change coming to this green wild jungle, Joseph Banks reported to East India Company in 1788 that the climate in North East India was ideal and most favorable for tea growing but he suggested to transplant the tea bushes from China but missed to mention the fact that those plants were native to Bengal. Unfortunately his idea was ignored.

Its Chai Time

Tea is one of the most popular beverage consumed in India be it any season of the year or any time of the day. Interesting fact here is, there are almost 129866 way and more to make "chai" which can set your mood of the day, your taste, preference and can vary from flavors of being milky to strong, spicy to sweet, light to bitter and some can be simply black. But the best one enjoyed in most of the places in India is "Masala Chai". Recalling the history of tea in India, it wouldn't have been admired, if East India Company in 1820 had not taken steps to acknowledge its importance and made it a completely exclusive export products.