Tea , Chai as they call it...

Did you know that people celebrate World Tea Day !! 

Surprised ? Yes, even I had the same reaction when I first heard about this not so common celebration. I did not have any great affinities for tea, and how important it was to people. But yes only when I saw that my husband loved tea, he could have it anytime of the day. And that was my actual introduction to tea so closely, inspite of having grown up in a country where every street corner has what we call it “Chai ki Tapri “ ( a place where a street vendor sells tea). Soon I realized that because I had never tasted that beverage I could not understand when they say, it needs to be boiled a little more, and a little less and the colour needs to be so and so..I wondered how a drink which just had tea, sugar, water and milk could have so many specifications.

Then living in the health conscious nation, I discovered the world of green tea and its benefits. Though I heard about it before too but people actually survive on it, this was quite new to me. And then on I had been exploring the world of teas. Starting from the health benefits green tea offered to the kick our Indian Chai gave.  

Only when I was on my exploration, some Chinese friends introduced me to Rose Tea and Chinese Tea, which do not use milk, and you can substitute sugar with honey. Just like the rose tea, there are some other  flavors of tea like Honey- Ginseng, Peach tea, Mango tea and you name it. All the fruit based teas are caffeine free. They have various benefits, that range from good hair, good skin to being stress relievers. The most recent one I found was the sleep time tea, which helps you get a good sound sleep after a long day !! Not forgetting, the numerous health benefits, that “Adrak Chai” (Ginger tea) offers and was one remedy every granny had to offer if someone had a headache, cold, sore throat or fever.

Now, I definitely have a different definition of the whole tea concept, and I love some of these flavors and try a different one each time…!!!

So, get up and quickly grab a cup of tea to refresh yourself !!! J