I came to tea late in life. Most of my life was (and still is) about drinking a glass of milk every morning. No tea, no coffee. “Bad things,” as my mother always told me while I was growing up. Even in the US, as I saw everyone get their coffee in every meeting, I stayed away. I didn’t need coffee for its taste or its “staying awake” capabilities!
I tried tea a couple of years ago when travelling. It was a good filler when a hot Jain meal was hard to come by; the Girnar Tea premix sachets which needed just hot water were a good quick fix. In office, I will have a tea (no sugar!) in the afternoon. I’m not very fussy about the taste; as long as it has the right mix of Indian masalas, I am fine with it!
So, I got curious about tea – given that Indians are a nation of tea-drinkers. The story of tea in India is fascinating, as explained by Claude.
While tea plants were native to India, especially in Assam, it was the British who transformed India into a tea-drinking nation. Before the British, India was primarily an herbal decoction-drinking culture. The British East India Company began large-scale tea cultivation in Assam in the 1830s to break China’s monopoly on tea. Over time, what began as an export crop became deeply embedded in Indian culture.
The classic Indian masala chai – a spiced milk tea – is a relatively recent invention, becoming popular only in the 20th century. Today, it’s more than just a beverage; it’s a cultural phenomenon. From roadside tea stalls to corporate boardrooms, chai is the great equaliser, bringing people together for conversations and connections.
Tea’s popularity isn’t just about taste or tradition. The combination of caffeine and L-theanine in tea provides a unique kind of alertness – gentler and more sustained than coffee’s jolt. The various antioxidants and compounds in tea are believed to offer health benefits, from improved heart health to better digestion.
What surprises me most about my tea journey is how something I avoided for decades has become a comforting part of my daily routine. While I’m still not a connoisseur who can distinguish between Darjeeling and Assam teas, I’ve come to appreciate this simple pleasure that billions around the world enjoy.
