Chai!

I have made kashmiri tea a lot in the past. About kashmiri/gulabi chai... it is actually made with green tea (yes, chinese green tea). You boil the tea leaves with cardamom, a little baking soda, and a pinch of salt for almost an hour to get the kahva. Then you add milk and pistachios to it. Some people like to add salt but I just add sugar after making it. If you want a recipe check this one out: http://www.contactpakistan.com/pakfood/drinks/greentea.htm
I have tried it and it is great. I used whole cardamoms instead of the seeds, low-fat milk, and no malai. Good luck!

Though I`m more a coffee drinker, with several cups a day, mainly regular coffee: black-without-spoon as we say in the Netherlands. I`m rather into tea as well! At my Indian family in the Netherlands we drink chai made of regular Enlishblend tea bag (there they are), with herbs and milk. I love this type with some sugar in it, I`m not much of a sugar-fan...things get too sweet to easily for me!

Of the different types of teas I was blessed with the best tea blender of the Netherlands settling a joint in my village..... there one buys his/hers tea in sachettes (bags) to take them home and put them in some storrages box. The staff is excellent and gives extended information about different flavours and the way of preparing a good cup of tea!

I tasted mainly Indian teas like: Darjeeling Orange Pekhoo & First Flush & Assam tea, further one of my all time favorites is Ceylon-blend. But I also tried some Japanese teas as well, some rather spicy.... though the most spicy tea I`d even had is unmistakeble: Gunpowder, a Chinese tea, leave the tea for 7 minutes in boiled water.... bam... u get some experience!

The most ackward tea I tasted was Yerba Matè, Brasilian herbal tea.... after the first sip I rose to all time hights..... still a favorite, difficult to get though!

Well it`s obvious I leave the original chai making to others, I`m more a lover of purity: pure tea.... depending on blend or flavour:3 to 7 minutes in boiling water and enjoy! A small advice to people who are not used to teabags: put the bag in your cup first and poor the boiling water on it, leave it there for 2 or 3 minutes, never more! Tea-bag tea is made of crushed leaves and thus dispose it flavour more quicker than full leaves!

Can someone please, please, PLEASE post a detailed recipe to make Gulabi/Kashmiri Chai. I have looked everywhre, imported special ``Kashmiri Tea/Chai Leaves`` but still unable to get pink tea. I have used various filtered/ bottled water too. No luck.......I feel like crying !!!!!!!

Sincerely,
LeVanay

anyone ever had those Dhaba (Pit Stop) chai in Pakistan?

or those chai on GT road in a big bowl rather than in a cup?

has anyone tried tea with evaporated milk?

Ironman,

I will also have a meter long tea for that

reply to #13:
kashmiri chai or `gulabi` chai is also made from green tea. its just cooked longer, much longer, with milk in it, so that it turns pink.

soundmeister,

``i clicked eagerly on jay`s post#4, imagining he`d have somehow made this into a tea-n-tea debate somehow``


Hee, hee! Good one sounder!

tea-n-tea, I`ll drink to that!!

arn`t the tea leaves used to make green tea ... well...green?
perhaps that may explain the name.

I think its called ``green`` tea because it is uncured/unfermented/unaged or whatever you do to tea to make it the black stuff we like. That is, it is using ``green`` in the sense of unseasoned rather than as a colour.

Why it is called Green Tea when it is not Green?

Anyone?

Chae Chahiyeh,
Kon Sy Janab?
Lipton Umdah Hai...
Lipton Lijieyh,
Lipton Pijiyeh... Lipton PIJIYEH :)

In TO (Toronto), mama makes the most amazing chae. She mixes the Orange Pekoe and the Earl Grey `patti` ... and condensed milk... oh ... and an aunty uses `illaichi` (ok - fruit for thought, i hv no idea what illaichi is in english..khair!)... for added khushbu :)
My fiancee likes theek dum wali doodh pati... like in dhaabas...and calls my microwave wali chae a `dhoka`...shukar...she didn`t know this b4 we got engaged :)
Chae subsitutes: Tim Horton`s ki Cappuccino in TO...and Cafe con Leche in Miami :)
How much sugar do I take in my tea? Ab tou `woh` hy hain meri zindagi main mithaas...so no sugar needed :)

chaye mil jaye
par koi brand na ho
usko meray siwa peenay wala na ho
khuboo ho lajawab
khul day dil wa dimagh
karak bhi ho magar maza day taskeen ka...
har ansar main ala o qadr baney
chah barhe jab bhi kabhi
mil jaye bina mange hi

chai rocks! I sickened myself on doodh-jyaada-chai-kam doled out by the thela outside my office and have now moved to sugarless with a twist.

BTW, chaiwalas in mumbai are called ``bhats``. any idea why?

i clicked eagerly on jay`s post#4, imagining he`d have somehow made this into a tea-n-tea debate somehow ;)))

too bad!

Lament ...

not too long ago, in India, you could go to a tea shop, and there were always these speciality tea shops, and buy the real tea. you could get premium stuff like darjeeling, upper-assam or orange-pekoe. all these you dont boil but just steep in almost boiling water, preferably in a warmed-up kettle and drink with only a spot of milk and marie biscuits. the leaves would open up and would be about an inch large. for more budget concious, you get the BOP (broken-orange pekoe) or lower assam etc. or the brook-bond red lable stuff. it needs a little boil, a good splash of milk to take the tart out, and a lot of sugar. and then you had stuff like mumry, and hotel-dust blends. these need extensive boiling, sometimes with milk, and spices etc.

now all you can buy is mumry, from a generic grocer, which is essentially tea-dust in a factory granulated with some glue. the glue addds to body. awful stuff. the real tea goes into blending, iced-tea, the middle-east and iran for high price.

all,

There are five main types of tea: black, green, oolong, white, and herbal -- which isn`t actually made from tea leaves at all.

Black tea:
Generally known in the United States as ``regular tea,`` this type is oxidized; which means it`s left to fully dry and ferment after being picked. Chemical reactions to air exposure darken leaves` color. Earl Grey, English Breakfast and Darjeeling are some examples of black teas.

Green tea:
Unlike the black variety, green tea is not fermented. After being picked, the leaves are immediately dried. This tea type is generally more pale and has a slightly bitter taste, which is why it`s often enjoyed after a very sweet dessert and alongside Oriental foods. Green teas include Lung Ching, Bancha and Sencha.

Oolong tea:
This is a combination of green and black leaves, as it is partially fermented. The color and flavor falls between the green and black teas as well. Examples of oolong teas include Black Dragon and Pouchong (Pao-Chung).

White tea:
This rare type of tea is unfermented, but unlike the green tea, the leaves are rapidly fired and dried, resulting in a more ``natural`` state. They taste lighter and more fragrant. This tea is usually enjoyed without a meal, and is generally available only from specialty stores and importers. It can also be as much as 10 times more expensive than other teas. White teas include Flowery White Pekoe, Silver Needles and Noble Beauty.

Herbal tea:
Tea purists are quick to point out that herbal teas don`t actually contain tea leaves. Instead, most are made from a blend of herbs, leaves, flowers and roots. Chamomile and Peppermint are just two of the many herbal teas available today.

I make mean tea with regular lipton tea bags, Aazmaish Shart Hai.....need more info anyone?

errr
this seems like a welcome note of the ``tapal`` factory,anyways,has got my tastebuds active again...

tea made out of tea-bags is extremely pathetic...
its a curse to all tea-addicts...

you didnt mention green tea...
ahh,green tea with ``ilaichi``
say no more!!

Danish:

Thank you for the reminder on the important role ``teal leaves/ tea bags`` play in our daily life.

This was a topic that I had on my mind way back to cover since I am a connoisseur of herbal tea.

Persian Tea that I have tasted here in some of the Persian Restaurants is simply delicious. You do not have to add any sugar cube. It`s like having keh`va but it`s less heavy than if you add milk to it. Personally I would never do the blunder.

I would mention one thing that here in the US you have different variety of tea available and it all varies. To give an example, Tazo Chai at Starbucks is pathetic in all flavors. You have to go to certain tea-stores or tea shops to get the best flavored tea. Some of the Starbucks carry an excellent brand of white tea as well as green tea and it`s known as ``The Republic of Tea.`` There ``Earl Grey`` is also one of the nicely flavored one.

Still, Coffee rules.

No Sugar, Half-&-Half and Vanilla Almond or De-caff.

The only tea that makes sense with milk is Kashmiri Tea. The rest are just fillers.

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Thanks for your kind words folks. Hope to put pen to paper (or should I say fingers to the keyboard) more often. I appreciate the comments of the friends here who have enlightened me about the various flavours/varieties of tea that I have missed.

I still remember the excellent taste of chai in Truck driver dhabbas. One can find these dhabbas everywhere on highways. In northern Pakistan, I always enjoyed this tea with garam white tandoori roti, believe me you cant find this tandoori roti in Punjab. And here in Europe you will be even grateful to have Punjab wali tandoori roti.

True here people love green tea or herbel tea. I enjoy all this stuff too but always come back to Apni Wali Chai. Thanks to mom that she never spoiled us by giving doodh pati wali chai so here alone I can use tea bags. English black tea is expensive but better than other black tea types. But have you ever tried Morrocain tea? its awesome, I would say its good but humari wali chai is still BEST. Oh I am missing garam paratha and chai....:(, The people in perdais living with moms can still enjoy it, ....oh! I am hungry let me finish my pasta (yep! instant pasta again...not the real home made italian one).....yeh hai student life, but apni wali chai is still avialble in student life....Shukar Allah Mian :)

Chai:

Good article Danesh Zaki.

The word-origin is Ta` , a chinese word, meaning a herbal-brew or Joshaanda or Cha`[the boiled brew-`josh`] , as written in farsi & urdu . The chinese pronounce it with a sound between T & SH. The British baboons called it Tea mistaking Cha` or Ta` for Tia.

It is and and always has been a part of the Turco-Mangol culture. Joshaandas, suggested by Hakeems, of various herbs have always been there. The British baboons simply exploited the local people and started claiming it as its own. It is very heartening to note that Tetleys is now owned by the Tata group and if I am not mistaken Tate & Lyle has also been sent to the dust-bin of pseudo-grandeur.

Coffee or Qahvaa has an arabian/ethipian origin. The spaniards took it to Latin America .

It is interesting to note that US was also a British colony but once it got its freedom--(by fighting and killing British baboons & not by dundee marches or as a real-estate transaction)
it did not retain any of the baboons` cultural garbage: Coffee vs Tea, Baseball vs Cricket, Football vs Soccer , right hand drive vs left, On & off switches for light.

Apparently minor and insignificant but those who earned their freedom through blood & toil behave differently than the Paki Slaves who are always ready, willing, and able for a few cents more. Mom & Sister for sale--at bargain basement price, but ONLY to a goraa. The proud Pimps & Whores from the Jack and Jill missionary-positions.

The slaves who would rather pay to stay as slaves..the goraa-goo-chaater Pakis.

Interesting....

I usually have my two cups of Red Rose tea, everyday at work. I still haven`t gotten around to appreciating coffee. Starbucks sells a brand of tea called, Chai, which sells for around $3.50/cup (Rs 160/cup).....

I read somewhere that Pakistani is the third (??) biggest importer of tea, in the world. And that Pakistan can barely, or not all, grow tea locally, except in Mansehra (???). And India is an exporter, while Pakistan currently gets its tea from Kenya.

So pretty soon, we should start seeing a lot of Indian tea. I guess tea and cricket are two things that may be more popular in South Asia, than in the places they originated. Though I always thought tea was a local phenomenon.

Why hasn`t Iced Tea taken off in Pakistan? (Iced Tea the drink, not Ice T the rapper).......

#14
Rozaiba, you have to be joking? Tell me you are. Please.

I wuw the green tea, eshpeshally in AFGHANI style with their transparent cups with `sugar cubes`(?) I seldome miss the QISSA KHWANI bazar`s green tea whenever visit Peshawar.

wonder, why couldn`t I develope a taste for KASHMIRI chai. Had twice only in life.

oh let me tell that in lakshmi chowk lahore, ppl confuse the green tea with KASHMIRI chai. I once asked for green tea thinking that it wud be QAHWA but they presented the KASHMIRI chai. or perhaps I am confusing. :p

I say green or sabz chai to the green tea/QAHWA or SHEEN CHAI. and KASHMIRI chai use to be pinkish with pistas n other dry fruits in them.

chai is a testimony of the success of corporate consipracies against third world societies and their gullibly addictive masses. it should be banned.

Tea on the sub-continent symbolically summarizes the colonialization of the sub-continent. The British sold Indian Opium to china, and Chinese tea to India. It is very true, that Lipton actually created markets (based on what elders tell me) in India and many of its other colonies. We have offcourse indianized it with variation such as ``Khadi Chammach`` (its so thick with sugar at the bottom, that a spoon stands in it) and doodh-patti (paki variation), but then many of us worry (e.g. Nazar) that the British will get upset. At one point, Tea was the single most important export of Sri Lanka (now it is stewarts on Cruise Ships). In addition, tea is the true ``Past-Time`` of India (or time-pass), symbolising the lazy, languid ethos.

In bussiness world of Banias, tea plays an important role. The shop or bussiness owner calls for tea with either an inward wave of hand or outward, the latter symbolizing the ``chotu`` not to bring it. The visitor gets the intent (i.e sorry, no bussiness) when the tea does not show up soon. If the deal is done, they share a cup, with half tea in the soucer and half in the cup. Now that Tata has taken over Tetley, the symbolization of the colonial experience is more real.

The true glorious drink of the sub-continet is offcourse bhang, the Soma Ras enjoyed by gods themselves, alas most of us have no idea about it, and we allowed the British to ban it as illegal in many provinces. Now only smelly Malangs drink it.

i hate the foul-smelling, foul-tasting wretched concoction and i wish people`d stop thinking im being all snooty when i politely refuse their offer of tea by pointing out tht i dont drink tea.

alternatively i love:
1. herbal tea
2. kashmiri chai
3. coffee...almost every kind

good article though

some people say chai is a british conspiracy. i find them very bitter

i love chai- watermelon flavored, jasmine, tapal, sri lankan, irani kaava or that strong, sakht sindhi chai with a drop of elaichi powder whilst boiling
thank you for bringing such an essential part of our lives onto the front page

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Try tapal danedar for those who are in Pakistan. It is excellent both as seperate and doodh patti.The leaves take about 5 minutes to unflod. So the kettle has to be kept at a very low simmer. Wow!!

Another is the tea made from green mint leaves with honey. Put two leaves in each boiling cup of water and add honey. It has an immediate analgesic and refreshing effect. Some say that it is also anti cancer and keeps away allergies.

Recently I also tried Ginsing from Korea. Its too refreshing.

Cheerios!!

No one mentioned green tea? Even Iced tea .. . . ? Wat abt Star Bucks`s Green Tea Frappacino (yum).?

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