A cup of tea; chai, be it a regimented once or twice a day habit, or a several times a day indulgence, it’s perhaps the most peaceful time of its drinker’s day. It offers a break, a much-needed moment of privacy, a sliver of calm amid the hustle and bustle of modern living. Naturally then in its dregs is a history of violence, colonial plunder and exploitation, and drug use, and so International Tea Day seems the perfect time to steep oneself in its lore of leaves.
The reason for our veneration of the beverage, much like so many other things in the Subcontinent, be it the medium you read these words on as well as the language you’re reading it in, is the British. When the British sallied forth in their quest for tastier foods and a respite from the rain (world domination was just a side gig), they happened across China in 18th and 19th centuries and were introduced to tea, becoming instantly hooked. Indeed, so much did the demand rise for tea back in the British Isles, that the still-nascent empire began haemorrhaging silver to keep up constant supplies of tea leaves from the Chinese. This wasn’t commercially viable, but luckily the British had their toe firmly set in India. While Indians didn’t have tea plants, we had a lot of poppies.
Long story short, the British East India Company began to export opium from India to sell to the Chinese in exchange for silver, with which they would buy tea. Because opium is the definition of addiction, the Chinese populace couldn’t get enough drugs, and so the British bought even more tea with their surplus of silver and simply sold the excess in India, which was a captive market at this point. So the Chinese suffered because of the Opium Wars, the British got Hong Kong, and Indians got our chai.
So, while speaking of the part and parcel of Indian life that tea has become, celebrity chef Kunal Kapoor avers that while ek cup chai is now sacrosanct to us, there used to be a time when herbs and spices boiled in water did us just fine. “Before the British brought in the habit of tea, every family and household had their own steeped preparations, made using the herbs and spices at hand, infused in plain water, with no tea leaves.
I’m not even sure of the specific word for it, considering this was hundreds of years ago. In fact, once tea came in that same concoction became our masala chai, because we were already used to the format, if not that one ingredient. And of course, thanks again to the British we got into the habit of adding milk and sugar to the drink, which became the de facto version.”
However, it’s just the milk and sugar one should avoid if one wants to accrue the health benefits of tea, of which there are more than a cuppa, er, couple. Nutritionist Sheryl Salis, while noting that all teas play a significant role in rooting out damaging free radicals, which are caused by pollution and the stresses of modern living, adding tea and milk and other calorifics is just feeding the beast some more. The anti-oxidants and flavonols present, which do everything from boosting our metabolism to lowering blood pressure and inflammation, have their work cut out for them when you cut the steeped tea with milk and sugar.
“We’re exposed to so much pollution these days, not to mention other stressors, and so the various kinds of teas can play a great role in helping deal with that, with green and white teas having more nutritional value than black. But again, it shouldn’t be something that we should do in excess,” she cautions. Salis suggests no more than five-six cups a day and that too while using one tea bag for two cups so that you’re not running around with a caffeine high all day. That’s still better than opium.
Tips for teas
Do not drink more than five cups a day, and split one tea bag between two cups.
Avoid adding milk and sugar to your tea as much as you can.
Do not drink tea after a meal, as it doesn’t allow iron to be absorbed from your food.
Do not drink green or black teas close to bedtime; chamomile works.
Just drinking green tea doesn’t reduce weight; it needs to be accompanied by regular exercise and healthy eating.