The morning I arrived I woke up rather early considering my plane landed around 2:30. I dressed, wondered what exactly I was to do, and then decided to go across the way to the room where other lifeforms were awake and moving. I was greeted by a cook and another women. They asked if I wanted tea, of course I say yes (just to note, up to that point, tea was something I tended to avoid), and was handed a cup exactly like the one below.
In this cup was a tea I never tasted before. It was sweet and rather creamy tasting. Nothing like the transparent brown stuff that is usually consumed by the few at home. This was different. My first reaction was that it was 'good' nothing more, nothing less. The thing that got me was this cup of creamy okayness was hot, if I drank it right away my taste buds will not work quite right for the next several hours, and was handed to me on a wonderful 26 degree celsius day. That is equal to a 78.8 degrees fahrenheit day. So, I am handed a steaming cup of tea on a day where the popsicles are a near necessity, just to be exceptionally clear. I am still a little confused.
--- History Insert ---
Why is tea so big in India, so much so that Indians alone consume nearly 25 percent of the tea globally produced? Well, documented evidence dates tea drinking back to 750 B.C.E., however, legend is another, more intriguing, story:
"According to a very interesting legend, the history of tea drinking in India began with a saintly Buddhist monk about almost 2000 years ago. It so happened that this monk who later became the founder of Zen Buddhism, decided to spend seven sleepless years contemplating the life and teachings of Buddha. While he was in the fifth year of his contemplation and prayer, he almost fell asleep. He took some leaves from a nearby bush and began chewing them. These leaves revived him and enabled him to stay awake as he chewed on them whenever he felt drowsy. Thus he was able to complete his penance for seven years. These were the leaves of the wild tea plant."
or
Other legends say that an evil Emperor, Shen Nung, was overthrown 5,000 years ago and banished to a remote part of Southern China. He was driven by poverty to drink only hot water. One day a gust of wind blew some leaves into his pot of boiling water, the results of which he consumed. The drink was so relaxing that he sat under a tree for the next seven years drinking nothing but this Tai (Chinese word for tea meaning peace)
The leaves of this wild plant were used for brewing this beverage and over the years a variety of teas emerged. India called it Chai, the Hindu word for tea. The growth of this plants use throughout India was not made without a little help from a small island.
The British, which we also know as tea connoisseurs, came into the picture when it was noted by an Englishman that the people of Assam drank a dark liquid and again in the year 1823, a Singpho King offered an English Army Officer tea as a medicinal drink. They did have tea in England before this time but it was not until the 19th and 20th century that it grew into the popular cultural act. The 7th Duchess of Bedford, Anna, helped this trend along with the need to fill the 'sinking feeling' in the afternoon from lunch and diner, which was served around 8 o'clock. Her solution was a spot of tea and a possible light snack.
When the British, specifically the East India Company, began controlling vast lands on this great peninsula which is India they chose to commercialised tea production by setting vast acres of land aside to grow this product. These tea plantations began popping up in the 1830s but it was not until the early 1900s, when the British-owned Indian Tea Association began a great effort to market to the masses. They saw a vision that was worth tons, actually it was pounds . . . ha, ha! They began promotional campaigns to spread this drink; such as setting up tea stalls in cities, encouraging factories to give breaks to their workers, placing tea stalls at ever increasing railway stations, and even the giving of demonstrations. These efforts did not fail, continuing to gain greater momentum after WWII. Today it is a very present part of life.
--- End History Insert ---
Tea in India is consumed at all parts of the day: morning, late morning (there are many teachers gathered around the tea/coffee location between school starting at 7:45 until snack break at 9:55), noon, and afternoon (around 4:00 since the British afternoon tea is still engrained and supper is around 8:00). I have not really been offered tea after 5:00 in the evening. When being driven around India (because I will not drive here even if someone paid me) I can see individuals enjoying a cup of tea at one of the sweet/food shops that line the streets. For my tea, I prefer the kind made at the hostel at which I stay.
For this tea, tea leaves are brewed along with milk, in equal amount to the water, and sugar. It is then strained into a cup steam hot. They type of tea was popularised by the British. There is another type of tea which is more tradition in India called Masala chai which has spices such as ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and black pepper added during preparations. I have not had this type. Chai is also defined by the leaves added to they tea, the popular two are Assam and Darjeeling named after the regions form whence they came. If someone asked me what the leaves are called in my tea, they will be disappointed. I just drink it.
At first the idea of consuming a hot drink on a hot day (90 F and 32 C), was nonsensical, it still rather is, but I have found a calm that comes with drinking this delicious beverage. It is now officially tied for best hot drink with hot chocolate, which was my absolute fave. I do not know if I will continue drinking it when I return home but I do know that the 'old' tea will not be a part of my life. It has been forever ruined. (Indian chai laughs menacingly mwahaha!).
Random note: It rained today. I heard thunder. It was awesome!
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