I was in India three years ago this month.  This is a post about that trip and one of the true joys of visiting this vast country–having an early morning Chai.  

Reposted from May 2019.

I love early morning in India. The light is good and the streets are mostly vacant. 

Most shops are closed.  Some businesses are barricaded with iron bars while others are closed up tight with graffiti covered doors encasing the tiny stalls.  A light here or there burns, highlighting trash and left over glitter from the previous night’s festivities. 

An occasional cow rustles in the pile of trash, trying to find edible bits.  I might observe an enterprising rickshaw driver reclining in his seat, hoping for an early riser to show up needing a ride someplace.  

What I love about the early mornings are seeing the the deliberate movements of the owners of tea shops or stalls.    Stationed every few blocks, the tea stall is a fixture in Indian life almost as common as the inevitable cow. 

The words tea shop don’t always mean an actual shop.  Sometimes it is a wooden table on wheels, a cart of sorts; other times a space no bigger than a suburban home’s front hall closet. 

Before the sun rises, the tea shop owner—called a wallah— is there, heating the water, blending the tea and getting ready for what will be a steady stream of business from the minute the shop keepers and street sweepers, rickshaw drivers and the random tourist like me show up. 

Chai is something special in India. Masala chai is a flavored tea beverage consisting of loose strong black tea, with spices ike cardamon, ginger and nutmegs.  Other versions  might include cinnamon, saffron, rose, fennel, peppercorn clove and star Anise. 

Making the tea is a thoughtful ritual. The spices and loose tea are placed in a pot with a mixture of milk and water which is brought to a full boil.  

The tea is taken off the heat, strained and sometimes sugar is added.  

Often for show, the chai wallah will pour the tea from heights,  creating a waterfall effect and billows of steam.  ahhhh…..it tastes and smells wonderful and it is terrific for photographers.  Yep, it is a dilemma.  Snap photos or savor the chai? Both are heavenly.

Traditionally tea is drunk out of cheap clay cups that are thrown to the ground and smashed after the delicious drink is consumed, an early form of recycling.  Now there are more paper cups. 

Indians consume cups of chai throughout the day. It’s a way of life and a sign of hospitality. 

I became fascinated with the men who made the tea, the process and the consumption.  It appeared to me to be a ritualistic joy in a land where life can be tough and pleasures “by necessity” simple.  

I think it takes a special person to be a Chai Wallah with a built in friendliness and a dash of showmanship.  I walked by this fellow numerous times in Haridwar and he always had a smile for me.  Brightened my day. Others seemed to have a lot of fun holding their pans of hot chai in the air and pouring with a flourish.

Be aware.  Chai means tea so if you ask for chai tea you are asking for “tea tea.”  

Photos taken on a Jim Cline Photography Tour.  India. 2018.

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