It is India. We are a nation of hardcore chai-drinkers. What is chai? Good ol' tea, of course!
We drink various kinds of tea at different times of day and for a variety of reasons, too. We can be ingenious when we want chai... It is important to note that there is a huge difference in the chai different people drink.
At your semi-official guest-visits, you'll either get chai brewed and made, or in teabags. This tea will be your standard "Boil tealeaves, add sugar, add milk, serve." type tea. It's fairly good in itself, when made right, but it's when you taste other varieties of tea that you realise how versatile those little leaves can be.
Chaiwallas or shops that sell chai will generally offer you tea that they make all at one go. Add the water, milk, sugar and tealeaves into a huge vessel and boil away. In certain cases, they also add spices like cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and lemongrass. This tea acquires a rich, absorbed taste, of sorts, because evey ingredient in the brew has been honest-to-goodness stewed. And man, is it good. It tastes like a spice-market liquefied. Of course, one of the staples of this brew is that there is a ton of sugar in it. If you think about it, the addition of the sugar makes perfect sense, too. These chaiwallas and other tea stalls cater to working people who need a quick pick-me-up, or people who're unable to get home and brew themselves a cup of chai, for whatever reason. Logically, then, you would need some energy to sustain you, would you not? And that's exactly what chai does. It wakes you up, keeps you up and, depending on the season, provides welcome warmth or just refreshes you.
The nicest way to have chai is to dip something in it. So a lot of stalls will have flaky-pastry-ish cream rolls or sweet buns with butter or biscuits or some such that they sell as well. The India classic, of course, is chai and Parle-G. But anything goes.
In South Bombay, there are a number of places where chai can be found. There is a change in the format and ambience, of course, but it's all worth a try.
Kayani's near Metro Cinema is one place where you get a brilliant bun-maska-chai. The buns are home-made and yummy beyond belief, and the chai is hot, tasty and served in amusing little thick glass cups and saucers. The service is slow, but that just gives you more time to chill and relax. Kayani's in an Irani cafe, with old tables, chairs, fans, ideals, menu and staff. While you're here, you can try the egg stuff and the brea-butter pudding. But if you're not too hungry, just a bun and chai will work wonders on any mood.
Down near VT station, there is a corner known universally as the Aaram corner. The Aaram chai is delicious. However, it is a hole-in-the-wall-ish joint, so you take your little plastic cups of tea from the guy and find yourself a spot to stand or sit in. This means on the sidewalk, of course, and you'll be surrounded by smokers and other tired, hungry people, but it's all part of the deal. The tea is totally worth the standing around humanity.
You will find roadside tea stalls selling chai and vadapav, pakodas, even chapatti and vegetables. We drink a lot of tea here, don't we, in retrospect?
It's generally safe to drink freshly boiled tea from these guys coz, let's face it, with that kind of treatment, germs that survive are going to kill you whether you drink them of wait for them to take over the world. I would suggest you look for a cleaner guy, though, for the simple reason that you'll probably be standing around him and partaking of your brewed pick-me-up. You should also find a guy who seems busy, because, despite the trauma of a crowd, you can be sure the guy is good if people are willing to wait.
Of course, needless to mention, there are cafes and coffee shops with tea on the menu, but these guys are your generic dip-tea, in which case, why shell out the big bucks?
There are shops like Taste of Kerala and Kamat and Sahakari Bhandar restaurant that offer better tea, and non-dip tea, at that. So you can get some there. But mostly, stick to the road, it's a very informative stop. You can observe people as well, while you sip.
We drink various kinds of tea at different times of day and for a variety of reasons, too. We can be ingenious when we want chai... It is important to note that there is a huge difference in the chai different people drink.
At your semi-official guest-visits, you'll either get chai brewed and made, or in teabags. This tea will be your standard "Boil tealeaves, add sugar, add milk, serve." type tea. It's fairly good in itself, when made right, but it's when you taste other varieties of tea that you realise how versatile those little leaves can be.
Chaiwallas or shops that sell chai will generally offer you tea that they make all at one go. Add the water, milk, sugar and tealeaves into a huge vessel and boil away. In certain cases, they also add spices like cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and lemongrass. This tea acquires a rich, absorbed taste, of sorts, because evey ingredient in the brew has been honest-to-goodness stewed. And man, is it good. It tastes like a spice-market liquefied. Of course, one of the staples of this brew is that there is a ton of sugar in it. If you think about it, the addition of the sugar makes perfect sense, too. These chaiwallas and other tea stalls cater to working people who need a quick pick-me-up, or people who're unable to get home and brew themselves a cup of chai, for whatever reason. Logically, then, you would need some energy to sustain you, would you not? And that's exactly what chai does. It wakes you up, keeps you up and, depending on the season, provides welcome warmth or just refreshes you.
The nicest way to have chai is to dip something in it. So a lot of stalls will have flaky-pastry-ish cream rolls or sweet buns with butter or biscuits or some such that they sell as well. The India classic, of course, is chai and Parle-G. But anything goes.
In South Bombay, there are a number of places where chai can be found. There is a change in the format and ambience, of course, but it's all worth a try.
Kayani's near Metro Cinema is one place where you get a brilliant bun-maska-chai. The buns are home-made and yummy beyond belief, and the chai is hot, tasty and served in amusing little thick glass cups and saucers. The service is slow, but that just gives you more time to chill and relax. Kayani's in an Irani cafe, with old tables, chairs, fans, ideals, menu and staff. While you're here, you can try the egg stuff and the brea-butter pudding. But if you're not too hungry, just a bun and chai will work wonders on any mood.
Down near VT station, there is a corner known universally as the Aaram corner. The Aaram chai is delicious. However, it is a hole-in-the-wall-ish joint, so you take your little plastic cups of tea from the guy and find yourself a spot to stand or sit in. This means on the sidewalk, of course, and you'll be surrounded by smokers and other tired, hungry people, but it's all part of the deal. The tea is totally worth the standing around humanity.
You will find roadside tea stalls selling chai and vadapav, pakodas, even chapatti and vegetables. We drink a lot of tea here, don't we, in retrospect?
It's generally safe to drink freshly boiled tea from these guys coz, let's face it, with that kind of treatment, germs that survive are going to kill you whether you drink them of wait for them to take over the world. I would suggest you look for a cleaner guy, though, for the simple reason that you'll probably be standing around him and partaking of your brewed pick-me-up. You should also find a guy who seems busy, because, despite the trauma of a crowd, you can be sure the guy is good if people are willing to wait.
Of course, needless to mention, there are cafes and coffee shops with tea on the menu, but these guys are your generic dip-tea, in which case, why shell out the big bucks?
There are shops like Taste of Kerala and Kamat and Sahakari Bhandar restaurant that offer better tea, and non-dip tea, at that. So you can get some there. But mostly, stick to the road, it's a very informative stop. You can observe people as well, while you sip.
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