Tea...Chaai...my Passion in Life






I owe it all to my family …especially my parents...who would never say no to my request for a cup of chaai...by default...my amma always made an “extra” cup up of tea ...she knew i would sneek into the kitchen later to ask.. :)

Over the years, a cup of chaai became my best friend….

i cud sit for hours and hours in the college cafeteria/canteen sipping tea after tea...solo or with my best buddies!

The friends who hanged around with me either had a passion for chaai or coffee...but none betrayed me when I felt like having one. Tea was a universal remedy...prone to migraine and headaches at an early age...chaai came to my rescue…perhaps a thin line between drugs :D…contrary to what my doc said…a cup of “strong chaai” drove my headache away within a few minutes…

From the days of the the local tea powder in the "corner shop" near my home to the Red Roses... from the Taj Mahal to the Brook Bonde...Lipton to the Tetley..the Kanan Devan to the Tata Tea...from the Assam Apple Valley to the tea estates of Ponmudi, Ooty and Munnar ....I have tasted it all

From the Ginger/Adrak chaai to the Cardamom, Masala to the Ornage Pekoe...tea became my best buddy in life!

In the US...my biggest disappointment was not being able to walk into a tea shop as and when I felt like...but slowly...Starbucks became my local "tea" cafe...thanks to a great friend of mine who introduced me to it...his passion for coffee was perhaps equivalent to my passion for tea...

and then i re-discovered it all..re-kindled my passion for chaai

From the Chaai tea latte to the Awake Tea latte...from the English breakfast to the Earl Grey...I realized tea was such an enjoyable experience…not to foregt the Ceylon tea ;)

Come what may..I can drink n number of teas when I am back home or in my hometown or a in place like Chennai, Bangalore or Delhi..

I still vouch that tea should be declared a universal remedy!

To all chaai lovers…. I dedicate this to thee!

Chaai at your local tea stall - nothing can beat this  :)

Hot chaai and baklaava on a rainy day

Tea Bags - traditional to the modern

Awake Tea

Chaai on a snowy day