Chai!

Lovely article! (I`m think of adrak ka chai right now!)

i love chai...sometimes with honey and ilaichi, other times with one spoon of sugar..chai chahiyeyyyy kaun si janabbbb!

the most important type of chai that nazar sahib missed is dodian vali cha (or dodain vali chai)............ this is the elixir that keeps the truck drivers on (and frequently off) the road ....... it is your basic doodh-pati with unripened poppy buds boiled in it - a mild narcotic, quite pleasent, but a poor substitute for bhang ............

But tea is also defined by the kind of milk being used (if being used at all):

There is the tea with cold milk.
There is the tea with sweetened milk (mostly had in Dubai and other Middle Eastern cities).
There is the Khula Doodh ka Chai
The Milkpak experience
And last but not the least, Everyday wala Chai.

Danesh,

Kerala nair tea is never complete with out mentioning that it is measured in meters. To cool the tea, they pour it from one cup to the other, seperated by more than a meter, and not a drop should spill.
In kerala, even today, tea is made in ``samovars`, yes the russian ones, and they are called simply samaavar. Worth finding out how the russian cooking vessel found its way to kerala.

Zaki - some more varieties

``Doodh Patti`` - It is actually a food. Boiling milk condensed with `Pattee` (tea leaves) and suger. This is favourite with the villagers & paople who are not pushed about their weight. A layer of fat comes to rest on top of the cup. And as you drink it, this fat layer (with a higher temperature) slurps on your lips with a burning sensation. (The British must be turning in graves on the evolution of this variety)

``Chaloo Chai`` - This is probably the best tea in Pakistan. It is at those small Pathan ``Khokaas`` where blue colored Kettles are hanging on the nails on the side walls. And the broken cups have been stapled togather. Once the process starts, the kettle is not replaced. Only Pattee, suger, water and milk is continuously added as cups are continously taken out it. With Chamcha, tea is regularly taken out and water-falled into the kettle so that the Tea makes a liquidish ``Dhaar``. This Tea is really refreshing and gets your eyes opened. They say that the dark cup crevices give it a spacial flavour.

``Five Star`` - The Tea served in the Five Star hotels is the worst. It is cold, timid and cups are too heavy. Though it costs almost as much as a Burger.

``Separate Tea`` - I think this variety has almost died. This is where everything comes separate and you mix it. It is old style with those white chairs in Lawn & Tea pot covered with a Tea-Cozy. People now do not have time for preparing or seving this kind of Tea.

Wow. Now I will never be short of answers to life`s everyday questions. Mr. Zaki, full marks on the sheer esotericism of your trivia. And thank you for sharing it with us.

Rafay Alam