India 1

Tea is huge in India. Their style of brewing tea is popular the world over, and is used by many cultures. When I first started researching how people in other countries brewed their tea, I wasn't sure that I would be able to do anything different for India. Chai, spiced tea is popular the world over. While I have made several variations over the course of this blog, I think there is still something different about how they make it in India. There is a lot of variation, and they have many options to achieve a similar outcome.

I also knew that there could be a lot of research involved in learning about tea in India, and I don't exactly have the time or patience to spend hours on the internet looking up information. Thankfully, I found a podcast, "Gastropod" that had an episode about tea that talked a lot about the history of tea in India. When the British colonized India, China was still the only country that produced tea. As British settlers started living in India, they realized that there were wild tea bushes growing in certain regions, and that gave them an idea that would save them a lot of money. While they found that the wild tea bushes were not of a quality suitable to make tea, the Brits did have a man who was willing to go to China and steal tea bushes, and the secrets of how to make tea. He was very obviously successful given all of the tea grown in India today.

Thanks to YouTube, I have seen numerous methods of making Indian tea. Some people like to toast their spices in a dry pan, then grind them into a fine powder to sprinkle into their tea. Others don't toast their spices, and grind them into a fine powder to sprinkle into their tea. Thanks to the local Indian grocery store, I also discovered that you can find pre-made tea spices that are ready to use. 

That is what I'm trying today.

What is in tea masala, you ask?

Dry ginger

Black pepper

Pepper root

Cardamom

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Cloves

It also lists a serving size of 5 grams. That's a lot! At first I thought that there was no way I wanted to add that much to my tea (a few sprinkles are sufficient for my taste), but then I decided to go for it. I wanted to try this the suggested way. So, here is 5 grams measured out. 

I feel like you still don't get a sense of how much that is in this picture. I forgot to measure it out with my measuring spoons, but this is more than a tablespoon. I made myself some black (Assam) tea, and added milk (powdered milk, because it is cheap, and the spices will definitely cover the flavor. Besides, there are plenty of videos from India about using powdered milk if that is what you have). So I got all of my powders combined with my tea, and gave it a stir. I only manged to drink the top part of the cup. The tea masala settles, so it gets stronger the further you drink, even if you do stir it. It is hot, spicy, and above all, peppery. I have heard several references to Indian tea being quite peppery depending on who is fixing it. I also know that they prefer a lot of sugar in their tea as well, but I really don't like sweet tea, so I tried it without. The sugar may help temper the spice a bit, but I'm sure it would still have quite a kick even with that addition. I prefer a bit less pepper in mine, but it is interesting to know how spicy they like their tea.