Opinion | How tea became ’chai’
4 years, 3 months ago

Opinion | How tea became ’chai’

Live Mint  

I assumed chai was part of Indian cuisine. Chai’s story led me to Lutgendorf, recently retired as professor of Hindi and modern Indian studies at the University of Iowa, who has done research on how Indians became habituated to chai. Perhaps the inventor of chai found “pot tea” too fussy and achieved similar results by just putting all the ingredients into one pan and boiling them well. Chai became synonymous with the sweet, milky tea that’s boiled, not steeped. Both tea and chai created social spaces, like the “tea cabins” in Kolkata and the “Irani cafes” in Mumbai.

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History of this topic

Sugar, tea and a slice of history
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Sugar, tea and a slice of history

Live Mint  

The new cook examines my kitchen. Sugar’s journey through history is complex and if you are interested, do pick up Sweetness And Power by anthropologist Sidney Mintz or watch culinary anthropologist Kurush Dalal’s YouTube video on The History Of Sugar. Mintz says in his book, “The success of tea, like the less resounding success of coffee and chocolate, was also …

Egg In Your Tea? This Bizarre Food Combination Is Turning Heads
1 year, 2 months ago

Egg In Your Tea? This Bizarre Food Combination Is Turning Heads

News 18  

A cup of tea can make or break your day and in this case literally. Tea also popularly known as Chai in India is a staple hot drink enjoyed first thing in the morning in a majority of households. While some like strong ginger tea, many also enjoy masala chai with classic bun maska and there’s no single recipe that …

A World of Flavour: Exploring the Different Types of Tea
1 year, 5 months ago

A World of Flavour: Exploring the Different Types of Tea

News 18  

All of us like our tea to be hot! This delightful drink offers a diverse array of exquisite flavours and varieties, including India’s renowned Darjeeling Tea, Assam Tea, Kangra Tea, and Nilgiri Tea. Baid explains the lure of different teas for the Indian masses: The world-famous Darjeeling Tea, grown in the misty mountains of West Bengal, is celebrated for its …

Mumbai's Audi Chaiwala Is Driving India's Tea Startup Revolution On Luxurious Wheels
1 year, 6 months ago

Mumbai's Audi Chaiwala Is Driving India's Tea Startup Revolution On Luxurious Wheels

News 18  

Get ready for a luxurious twist in the Indian chai scene as new chai walas emerge on the streets of Mumbai. Amit and Mannu have transformed their Audi into a mobile ‘tea heaven’, also adding a touch of elegance to Mumbai’s crowded streets. Every day, they arrive at their designated spot on the Lokhandwala backroad, setting up their stall inside …

Student leaves NEET preparation to open tea stall in Delhi; claims MBA chai wala is her inspiration – India TV
1 year, 11 months ago

Student leaves NEET preparation to open tea stall in Delhi; claims MBA chai wala is her inspiration – India TV

India TV News  

Young people today seem to have a tremendous passion for running their own businesses. Following the popularity of MBA Chai Wala, a large number of young people entered the tea industry, which generated a lot of buzz on social media. Muskaan Jaiswal, a resident of Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh, has opened a tea stall at Noida's Sector 15 Metro …

This chai place is one of Bengaluru’s best kept secrets
2 years, 6 months ago

This chai place is one of Bengaluru’s best kept secrets

Live Mint  

Not far from Bengaluru’s Christ University is a narrow lane with a few shops and small cafés. The Malabar Cafe is small, with two wooden benches taking up much of the space, and the promise of inexpensive, fuss-free tea. The menu pays homage to Malabari spices and is wonderfully democratic, I felt, seeing the Malabari special tea listed along with …

'Why Can't There Be A Chaiwali?' Economics Graduate Sets Up Tea Stall In Bihar
2 years, 8 months ago

'Why Can't There Be A Chaiwali?' Economics Graduate Sets Up Tea Stall In Bihar

ABP News  

New Delhi: Unable to get a job after trying frantically for two years, an economics graduate has set up a tea stall near a women's college in Bihar's Patna. She said she was inspired to open the tea stall after hearing the story of Prafull Billore, famously known as "MBA Chaiwala". Prafull Billore left his MBA studies to start "MBA …

Who grew your chai?
3 years, 6 months ago

Who grew your chai?

Live Mint  

Do I need to know where my tea comes from and who made it? Now they have to show they grow tea without compromising on environmental health or human rights. In 2018, the non-profit Traidcraft Exchange ran a campaign, “Who picked my tea?”, in the UK to support workers’ rights in Assam, a major supplier of tea to the islands. …

How to make tea, the scientific way
3 years, 8 months ago

How to make tea, the scientific way

Live Mint  

I tend to prefer my tea without sugar, a request that often annoys tea vendors because they tend to keep pre-boiled milk ready with added sugar, and my request almost always requires them to put in a little bit of extra effort. When someone says they “don’t know how to make good tea”, what they are actually saying is they …

How to make tea, the scientific way
3 years, 8 months ago

How to make tea, the scientific way

Live Mint  

I tend to prefer my tea without sugar, a request that often annoys tea vendors because they tend to keep pre-boiled milk ready with added sugar, and my request almost always requires them to put in a little bit of extra effort. When someone says they “don’t know how to make good tea”, what they are actually saying is they …

How to introduce chai drinkers to new teas
3 years, 9 months ago

How to introduce chai drinkers to new teas

Live Mint  

How do you convert a nation of chai drinkers to tea without milk? Having won their trust, I would recommend other black teas—not a Darjeeling first flush just yet, however, since that would not find favour with someone who enjoys a dark and strong tea. With each of these, using a good base tea makes all the difference—a good quality …

Unity for tea, as ‘chai latte’ gets a big no!
4 years, 2 months ago

Unity for tea, as ‘chai latte’ gets a big no!

Hindustan Times  

Apart from Sachin Tendulkar and Dhoni, if theres one thing that Indians almost unanimously love is chai/tea. There’s a variant of tea according to every individual in this country, and every variant is unique in its own way,” says chef Manish Mehrotra as he explains the reason why Indian netizens, almost unanimously criticised a video posted by a Twitter account …

Dear WebMD, this hideous decoction is neither chai nor latte. As an Indian, I am offended
4 years, 2 months ago

Dear WebMD, this hideous decoction is neither chai nor latte. As an Indian, I am offended

Op India  

As I was mindlessly scrolling through my Twitter timeline, I came across this video of WebMD where they were talking about how to make ‘homemade chai latte’. Learn how to make a chai latte — without the coffee shop price tag. Sometimes on cold wintery mornings, I like to make myself this strong tea to feel warm. This is how …

Opinion | Capitalism, craft and India’s CTC tea
4 years, 6 months ago

Opinion | Capitalism, craft and India’s CTC tea

Live Mint  

My morning cup of milk tea reminds me that we are a country of CTC drinkers. “The British said, let’s pluck 32 times a year, let’s make tea granular, let’s add milk and sugar to it, let’s sell it to the world,” says Barooah. In 1875, Scottish tea planter William Jackson was returning from Assam to England when he saw …

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