Is chai an addiction or can it best be described as a carefully considered compulsive habit? Whatever the case may be, it works in many amazing ways: if you are sleepy, you need a cup of tea; if you are cold, tea warms you; if you are restless, it will cool you; if you are depressed, it will cheer you up; and, if you are excited, it will calm you. No other beverage offers so much at such a low price. Unsurprisingly, India consumes some 1.2 billion kilograms of tea each year.
The Book of Chai is a celebration of the milky brew that’s an intrinsic part of the life of Indian communities worldwide. Each cup contains within it an interesting bit of history. This is true if you are slurping it at a roadside dhaba in Bhopal, a tiffin room in Chennai or at a café in Dehradun. And rarely do two cups taste alike.
Successful London-based tea entrepreneur Mira Manek whose love for chai led her to set up the Chai by Mira brand takes the reader on an enriching, even therapeutic, journey. In The Book of Chai, she blends 65 delicious tea recipes with personal chai memories to highlight the drink’s integral role in Indian life and culture.
The Chinese were drinking tea for over 2,000 years before the rest of the world woke up to its pleasures. It was only after tea plantation was established in Darjeeling in 1841, that cups of chai became ubiquitous in India. The untiring efforts of numerous people who pluck soft tea buds for further processing is what makes your morning cup reality. And the CTC (Crush, Tea, and Curl) process is what drove the massive growth in consumption that has led to 75 percent of the domestic crop, a little over 800 million kilograms, being consumed within India alone.
Chai is more than just a hot drink. Herbs and spices infuse it with delicious and distinctive flavors. From ginger and cinnamon to cardamon, cloves, lemongrass and nutmeg, any number of spicy chai variants are available on retail shelves. Mira Manek’s range of fragrant chai recipes to be enjoyed through the day include the familiar Ukaro and Kadha, and Saffron Chai Muesli and Pumpkin Chai Latte, among others.
As a student, this reviewer often consumed 17 cups a day. At a conservative estimate, that’s about 28,000 litres of chai in an active lifetime. Friends often wonder if chai flows in my veins. To which I retort with the response favored by the Japanese: “If a man has no chai in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty”. Chai connects the drinker with some of the great things in life. And unlike other beverages, a cup of chai in itself makes for good company. From the first sip to the last, the chai drinker is transported to tea gardens in the hills with their flowing streams, chirping birds, and hovering clouds.
Most Indians simply cannot live without their cup. From keeping loneliness at bay to invoking freshness, chai does it all. It is an aggregate of many things poured into a cup; the aroma and flavor are just physical manifestations. Flip through The Book of Chai while you sip on a steaming cup of India’s favorite mood enhancer.
by Mira Manek
Hachette, New Delhi
Extent: 289, Price: Rs. 899.
