# Specific Favorite Teas!



## Snowflake Minuet (Feb 20, 2016)

Taj Badalandabad said:


> You know! Nobody else knows. But you can't get the authentic stuff unless you're in India, so maybe they can be excused for not knowing
> 
> Snowflake pls, we invented tea, how can you not have chai on the poll :sad:


Well because it is a black blend, with additions of course (just like my favorite I mentioned), but sorry!!

You see, if I added Chai, there would be no reason not to add, say, English Breakfast, or Earl Grey (another popular one around here it seems!). So to prevent that endless situation, I tried to draw the line at the basic blends (black, black/green, etc.).


----------



## Cast (Dec 20, 2016)

Taj Badalandabad said:


> You know! Nobody else knows. But you can't get the authentic stuff unless you're in India, so maybe they can be excused for not knowing
> 
> Snowflake pls, we invented tea, how can you not have chai on the poll :sad:


I tried Chai recently and wow it was delicious, 10x better then my previous favourite :shocked:


----------



## Vahyavishdapaya (Sep 2, 2014)

Snowflake Minuet said:


> Well because it is a black blend, with additions of course (just like my favorite I mentioned), but sorry!!
> 
> You see, if I added Chai, there would be no reason not to add, say, English Breakfast, or Earl Grey (another popular one around here it seems!). So to prevent that endless situation, I tried to draw the line at the basic blends (black, black/green, etc.).


What a sincere apology :laughing: it's alright, I was just fooling around, it doesn't matter that you omitted it.



Cast said:


> I tried Chai recently and wow it was delicious, 10x better then my previous favourite :shocked:


I am pleased you enjoyed your experience. To get the best shit you really need to go to a street vendor in India, however. There's just something about waiting in line on a stifling afternoon in the tropics at a chaiwala's roadside shop. The air is thick with humidity and exhaust gases. Waves of noise and colour overwhelm your ears and eyes, and the people seem to go on forever, like a scene out of the Pied Piper. You might spot animals as you wait, for each cup is brewed fresh and they laboriously take their own time - an elephant may pass if you're lucky, proud and dignified, a most intelligent beast. Or perhaps a mischievous monkey might snatch a shiny object out of an unsuspecting passerby's hands. More likely, a pair of bulls, their labour pressed into drawing a cart, will make an appearance. And almost certainly, there will be dogs - strays, pitiful, emaciated and sickly looking creatures. If the sun has set, perhaps our national mascot, the mosquito, will make its presence known with no prejudice. As you wait, you will notice that the humble chaiwala is a social gathering place. Taxi drivers will animatedly chat amongst each other, chewing on paan, exchanging raucous laughter and speech riddled with expletives and crude jokes with one another - "Bhenchod!". Old men will stand around smoking cigarettes or beedis, a small, pungent smelling cigar. Others will pore over newspapers, if the chaiwala's shop has seats, reading out loud and complaining about the misadventures of Sachin Tendulkar.

And yet despite the oppressive heat, dust and pollution; you, along with all these other diverse people, find yourself waiting for a hot cup of chai instead of something cold to take the edge off the heat. It's that feeling which you won't get anywhere else! I'm going back on Thursday, and I just know I will find myself in settings like the one I have so vividly painted. And of course, the chai will taste much better and more authentic :laughing:


----------



## skycloud86 (Jul 15, 2009)

I drink green teas regularly. I've tried various kinds of teas, I like most of the ones I've tried.


----------



## Swordsman of Mana (Jan 7, 2011)

difficult call, but I'm gonna have to go with white, specifically white peony/Bai Mu Dan


----------



## Skeletalz (Feb 21, 2015)

Earl Grey or English Breakfast, with milk. Theyre so smooth and delicious, a key factor of a good drink is that I _want_ to drink it, if I have to force it like the black coffee from supermarket grounds or vodka or some of the stronger beers or strong alcohol in general then no thanks.


----------



## Endologic (Feb 14, 2015)

*Coffee.*


----------



## tangosthenes (Oct 29, 2011)

My three favorites are Chai, Dirty Chai (Chai w/Coffee), and Lemon.



Taj Badalandabad said:


> ...


Don't forget the shit on the street.


----------



## Vahyavishdapaya (Sep 2, 2014)

tangosthenes said:


> My three favorites are Chai, Dirty Chai (Chai w/Coffee), and Lemon.
> 
> 
> Don't forget the shit on the street.


Shut up! That does not fit into my attempt at writing like Orwell. I tell you what, it's a lot more fun than I thought to write descriptively instead of analytically, for a change - though as you have raised here, you compromise on factual veracity and truthful content because the ugly truth destroys the pretty picture your flowery adjectives have painted (or vice versa).


----------



## Vahyavishdapaya (Sep 2, 2014)

I was up at the local chaat house just now










It was rather more prosaic an experience than what I had described. There were no old men standing around smoking or having heated discussions on Virat Kohli. And there were no animals either, except for a stray having a nap across the road; and it was quite healthy looking, decently sized at any rate. No swearing taxi drivers neither. And the weather was beautiful, not at all hot or unpleasant.

The spot is really well known, I am told. By nightfall when the chaat starts being sold, it gets packed out so much that there's no room to stand around the shop or park nearby. I can testify to the excellence of their cooking, I had aloo parothe along with my chai (an aloo parotha [plural: parothe] is a flatbread cooked in a clay oven, stuffed with potatoes and herbs and spices) and it was fucking fantastic! God I missed the food, it's so good. The women are fine too









But I digress. The chai was prepared fresh right in front of my eyes by this gentleman, who looked a little bit like Sarfraz Ahmed


















The chais are served in these lovely clay pots that you see in the picture. I really liked that, it's a nice touch. They keep potters employed, and the pots are disposable and biodegradable - much better for both the economy and the environment than plastic cups! Also of course they protect your fingers from the heat of the chai nicely. Aside from the packaging and the food which I found highly impressive, the chai itself was merely OK... I've had better. It was a little bit short on sugar and a little bit high on pepper, I would have preferred a sweeter, more cinnamon-y taste than the formula this chaat house has settled on. Still, I will definitely be patronizing this establishment many more times before I leave!


----------



## JayShambles (Aug 9, 2016)

Not that I am even close to a tea fanatic, I still remember the day I tried a 'Turkish Apple' tea served cold with fruit and sugar inside.. T2 was the brand of the tea and it totally hit the spot. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## RisaRay (Jan 3, 2017)

Taj Badalandabad said:


> What a sincere apology :laughing: it's alright, I was just fooling around, it doesn't matter that you omitted it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hii....have you tried the very Indian 'Adrakwaali Chai' - (ginger tea)?? 
With Moong / Onion / Paneer or Bread Pakode ?? It will be my all time favorite...the combination of chai-pakode is an enjoyable experience..
And South Indian...speciality of Filter Coffee...(kaaapi) as they say... Pure indulgence... !

...keep it simple.


----------



## BenevolentBitterBleeding (Mar 16, 2015)

If ever I go to Asian restaurants for Dim Sum, always: Bolei tea.
If I'm out, don't feel like coffee, and it's convenient: Milk tea.
At home on the regular:








Simple tastes for simple mind.


----------



## Vahyavishdapaya (Sep 2, 2014)

RisaRay said:


> Hii....have you tried the very Indian 'Adrakwaali Chai' - (ginger tea)??
> With Moong / Onion / Paneer or Bread Pakode ?? It will be my all time favorite...the combination of chai-pakode is an enjoyable experience..
> And South Indian...speciality of Filter Coffee...(kaaapi) as they say... Pure indulgence... !
> 
> ...keep it simple.


Hi 

You must be another Desi, you know far too much to be a firangi! Nice to meet you. No I have not tried it, or possibly I have tried it and just don't know it by name. Ginger flavoured tea sounds like a chaiwala's staple. If you go down south, and I mean proper down south, in Tamil Nadu; the chais are infused with elaichi... Glorious! That's the best. Especially around the mountain towns in Tamil Nadu. I recall the best chai I ever had was at Valparai in 1999. Who knows if that shop still exists today? Is it in the same place, run by the same people, and patronised by the same customers? Are they still in awe of Brian Lara's 153* at Bridgetown (it's all the old men smoking and reading newspapers were talking about that day - Lara, Lara, Lara!)? I doubt it. I have never returned there since. But even if that specific shop is no longer extant, I'm sure if anyone were to visit the area in search of the perfect tea, they would not go home unrewarded or unsatisfied. These mountain people, they know tea! Probably because it's the only places in the south where the weather is not far too hot to locally produce tea crops, instead of having it imported from Assam or Sri Lanka.

Chaiwala and chaat shops are so integral to Indian culture and social life, they are like the equivalent of the pub for the Angrezis and the mall for the Americans. This is my first visit in 2 years and I've been so excited :crazy: eating and drinking everything in sight! I still need to eat shrikand and drink nimboo pani and get pav bhaji from the chaat shop!

Glossary for noobs

Desi: of or from the subcontinent; from the Sanskrit 'desh' meaning native land

Firangi: a white person. This entered Indian languages by way of Arabic and Persian. It dates from the Crusades, where European soldiers called themselves the Franks, which became firangi (plural, firang is the singular)

Chaiwala: a shop, usually a fairly rudimentary one on the roadside, that sells tea and coffee

Elaichi: cardamom, a spice native to the south side of India. When added in tea it creates a spectacular aroma and taste, but be careful to never bite the seeds, they taste foul and bitter despite emitting such a heavenly odour

Brian Charles Lara: an amazingly good former cricket player from Trinidad & Tobago

Chaat: Indian street food and fast food, prepared and sold exclusively in the major cities during the evenings only

Angrezis: Englishmen

Shrikand: an Indian dessert, roughly about the same texture and taste of sweetened Greek yogurt, with some mild spicing (cinnamon, saffron and stuff)

Nimboo pani: a very refreshing drink made of lemon juice, soda water, sugar and ice cubes. Often sold on the roadside of highways, to tempt weary travellers and offer some respite from the heat

Pav bhaji: the king of chaat dishes, a mixed vegetable curry dressed with fresh lemon juice and served with buttered buns of bread


----------



## Riven (Jan 17, 2015)

I like chamomile tea, because it's caffeine free. In other cases, I'll take other types of tea, but usually the type the British have or green tea.


----------



## strawberryLola (Sep 19, 2010)

I love green and traditional jasmine tea. I also love adding osmanthus to my green teas. Yummy!!


----------



## nO_d3N1AL (Apr 25, 2014)

Earl Grey or Green Tea with lemon flavour, no milk with honey.


----------



## tinyheart (Jun 17, 2016)

For a moment thought it said "treats".


----------



## RisaRay (Jan 3, 2017)

Taj Badalandabad said:


> Hi
> 
> You must be another Desi, you know far too much to be a firangi! Nice to meet you. No I have not tried it, or possibly I have tried it and just don't know it by name. Ginger flavoured tea sounds like a chaiwala's staple. If you go down south, and I mean proper down south, in Tamil Nadu; the chais are infused with elaichi... Glorious! That's the best. Especially around the mountain towns in Tamil Nadu. I recall the best chai I ever had was at Valparai in 1999. Who knows if that shop still exists today? Is it in the same place, run by the same people, and patronised by the same customers? Are they still in awe of Brian Lara's 153* at Bridgetown (it's all the old men smoking and reading newspapers were talking about that day - Lara, Lara, Lara!)? I doubt it. I have never returned there since. But even if that specific shop is no longer extant, I'm sure if anyone were to visit the area in search of the perfect tea, they would not go home unrewarded or unsatisfied. These mountain people, they know tea! Probably because it's the only places in the south where the weather is not far too hot to locally produce tea crops, instead of having it imported from Assam or Sri Lanka.
> 
> ...


Hi, Yes you met a 'Desi Girl'... pleased to meet you too. I’m actually having tea right now and writing you about tea!  It’s totally true we Desis' love tea, no matter either someone is rich or poor. And now it's winter here our tea intake has increased drastically! 
Oh yes…not a day passes without taking in a few cups of chai ! The morning starts with a hot steaming cup, and while some people have quite a few cups all day long, I limit myself to just 2 cups in the whole day, except in the winters, when you do need more of it. And its the rainy season, when they go soooo well with the pakoras!!
Ginger and cardamom are all time favorites , though some people tend to even add tea masala to their tea( Masala Chai), so it depends on their own choices. However, the roadside tea has it’s own charm and taste, and I don’t think we can ever get the same flavor when we make it at home, isn’t it? I would further add that a roadside Chai is sometimes much better than a five-star hotel or restaurant Chai....
Tea served in small pots, it enhances the aroma of tea, isn’t it?? And the Chai you added in your post ( A mix Chai with Coffee) is locally called 'Mara-Mari'  I haven't tried it yet though...
A recent innovation in tea, which I tasted was 'Chocolate Chai'! Which personally didn't click me much.. It tasted like a different 'mara-mari' sort of a thing... (Bournvita + Chai)....
We adore tea! It has been an unavoidable drink throughout my life. More like elixir! 
Sunrise- we need chai! 
( 1 cup garma garam chai aur din ban jaye!) 
There are guests at home - we need chai! 
( Sunti ho, mehmaan aaye hai_ chai bana do! )
Gossips after college - we need chai! 
( Chal yar Chai peete hai, aaj lecture kaafi boring tha...) 
Sunset - we need chai! 
( Sham ho gayi, chai kab Milegi?) 
Even if are sick or fasting ---we need chai!!!! 
Late night family gossips specially in winters are incomplete without tea! Such and more of such Chai moments is a definite in a Desi's life!! Such is our love for Chai.. I wish you be here as soon as you can...I wonder how did you manage to stay away from this Chai lover country...actually it's a nation which has a mindboggling variety of any category food stuff...but still Chai is a big deal!! Lastly I would add, the next big things are, Chaat, Vada Pav, Pav Bhaji, Onion/ Bread Pakoda..Papda, Dhokha, Idli, Dosa, Medu vada...etc. Delicious Street food you can't fail to see on your journey from North to South! ! ! 

Happy Sunday :-D


----------



## warxzawa (Aug 19, 2016)

my favorite is green and mint tea.


----------

