Chai Pilgrimage

Chai is the heart and soul of India. On my visit to India recently, I saw chai wallahs everywhere; at the train stations, on the roads, in the markets and bus stops, with never a shortage of customers.

It is hard to resist Chai, that signature Indian tea infused with spices of ginger, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick and of course lots of milk. Even if you’re not a tea drinker, the aroma alone is enough to tantalize your senses into having a cup or two. The cups in India were so tiny that I drank 2-3 cups a day easily.

This was also my first experience drinking chai out of the tiny clay cup. I wasn’t sure what to expect. That first sip, my tongue almost felt like it was stuck to the clay baked cup because of the heat from the chai. After that first bit of discomfort, I got used to the tastes, earth and tea in one – a very satisfying cup.

In Varanasi, there are lots of chai wallahs but one became quite friendly with my husband and I and was always around to serve us when we arrived at the ghats. It did not make any difference if I said no, he still gave me a cup so I stopped resisting. Even when I didn’t have any money on me, he produced a cup of tea with that big smile of his and he had such a beautiful energy about him, that I always gave in to him.

Another first for me was the opportunity to travel and visit a Tea Plantation. This was in Ooty in South India. Riding the Toy Train, we chugged slowly past tea plantations, with its very organized and tidy rows of tea bushes. This was interspersed in sections with woodlands and butterflies and wild flowers, it made for a very scenic train ride. At the tea plantations, it was interesting to watch the people at work and also the tea processing at the factory. It gave me a bit more insight and appreciation into what it takes to the whole art of tea processing.

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