Chai

[xenith]

(Re)discovered chai recently.

A few years back at Festivale, we were giving a sample of something rather nice & creamy but I couldn't remember the name of it.

I've seen the chai stuff around a lot lately and wondered if it was the same stuff. It's usually together with green tea, which I don't really care for so I haven't really bothered with checking it out.

In a cafe in Brisbane, I wanted some tea but all they had was Earl Grey, some herbal stuff & chai. It seemed like a good time to try it.

And it was the same stuff. Yah.

Bought a box of vanilla chai tea bags at the supermarket. When I got home, discovered it was decaffienated, from a "health food" line. Bah. I like it very much, hardly any left, but tea requires caffiene.

I bought a second box,Liptons that had caffiene but I don't like it that much. Maybe it's the vanilla that makes the difference. Or it needs something that I'm not doing to it.

Supermarket, of course, didn't have much of a choice. Our regular one didn't have the vanilla one. Will have to look into this stuff a bit more.

Comments

[cussedness.livejournal.com]

I like black chai with cream and sugar. I agree that the Lipton stuff is abysmal.

[monissaw.livejournal.com]

It might be worth me trying another brand then? The other brand.

Why isn't there anywhere in the city to buy tea other than the supermarkets *sigh*

[cussedness.livejournal.com]

I can usually find several brands here, so I'm lucky there. It's definitely worth trying the other brand.

[ex-benpayne119.livejournal.com]

Chai is great. Usually the tea bags aren't quite as nice as what you get in coffee shops. If you have the time and inclination you can make it from scratch, which is good. I don't have a recipe but i'm sure it's googlable. Ideally it should be made with milk, too, not water...

[monissaw.livejournal.com]

I was looking into that last night (afer I posted). Seemed like a bit of fussing about for a drink, but then it's probably simple enough once you get a system worked out.

[cussedness.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about doing that myself. I consider chai to be a real treat.

[monissaw.livejournal.com]

I might have to report back on how it goes then.

[(Anonymous)]

Hate to be a stickler, but 'chai' is just the hindi word for 'tea', so saying 'chai tea' is like saying 'tea tea'. But you probably knew that already.

(Another fringe benefit of being engaged to an indian princess: getting told off for using hindi words incorrectly!)

Speaking of indian teas, you should try to make kahva (Not to be confused with the Kava of the Pacific region). To quote Mr. Tea:

"a drink specific to the Kashmir region of India, called Kahva. Also known as "Kehvi" or "Mogil Chai," this concoction combines tea leaves with almonds, cardamom seeds, cinnamon stalks, and ample amounts of sugar. Unlike Masala Chai (the "Chai" that most Americans are familiar with), Kahva is almost always made with green tea and served without milk."

It usually gets dragged out any time we have a special occasion and it's very nice. Rich and spicy but takes some effort to prepare.

Signed,

Your Dear Brother.

[monissaw.livejournal.com]

I thought that might get a comment from you ;)

I'll keep an eye out for the kahva, but there being this shortage of places to buy tea in Launceston...

[(Anonymous)]

Isnt there an asian grocer somewhere in Launceston?

There used to be that one owned by the Hoong Fat people, but it was mainly south-east asian stuff.

Maybe ask one of mums favourite indian restaurants where they get their supplies from. They must go through a lot of Masala and Dahl and it has to come from somewhere. Unless they fly it in of course.

[monissaw.livejournal.com]

They have the one in Tamar St, I think. That's the only one. I'll have a poke around though.