OCD - Obsession of Chai Disorder.
No wait, I don't want to call it a disorder. And I don't know what it is if not a disorder. But whatever it may be, I appreciate that it makes me love my cup of tea more and more everyday. Well so much that I, in fact, just realized that I have this weird hobby (if I can call it that) of tasting chai at every place I travel to. And this Instagram story of mine from a few months ago is proof.
And what this 30ml potion did to me after a 5 hour-long extremely bumpy ride is inexplicable. But I think you can understand only if you fall in the same league of tea obsession as I do. And this is why I say that having tea at every place I travel to is my hobby and also, necessity.
And I know that this does not even explain a quarter of my eternal love for tea. But if I do have to get into more details, maybe I could write a thesis about it. 'Effects of Tea on the Human mind: A research paper constructed from personal experiences' - How's that for a working title?
And here's what the contents of the thesis would look like:
a) Introduction to cutting chai - the red bull substitute for most Indians.
b) Personal experiences with tea - the one brewed at home vs. the one enjoyed best at chai tapri.
c) Personal experiences with tea II - tasting tea across India.
Okay I can't continue without elaborating on point c. There's so much to talk about it. I don't even know where to start. So I think let me use this picture from my Instagram as a trigger.
I was as much excited to visit this tea garden in Sikkim as I was about tasting tea here. And well the garden was definitely a pleasing sight. But the brewed tea - let's just say it didn't live up to the imaginary standards I had about chai from a tea garden. I was disappointed, but my love for tea never ceased. Because the next best experience I had during this trip was of this enthralling cup of tea by the Guwahati - Shillong Highway in a shady restaurant. I don't remember what I ate, but the taste of that amazing beverage lingers even today. But I think, it led me to more disappointment. Because the red tea that I had throughout Meghalaya wasn't much of a delight. But who knew my forthcoming travels were going to be accessorized by those little moments of joy that came from tasting different types and varieties of tea.
I can never forget the warmth that small cup of hot Kahwa gave me while I sipped it amidst a snow-covered Khardung-La in Ladakh. Or that addictive taste of butter tea which I gulped down cup after cup, for a 100 times in a day, with lunch, dinner and what not, again in Ladakh. Or the sachharine tea in Nagpur which I hated. or the joy that sipping butter tea again in Goa at a Tibetan restaurant gave me. Or those countless times I revisited my college and never left without having a cutting chai which tasted the same throughout all these years. Or the chai that refreshes me during my work hours. Or my most important morning ritual - adrak vaali chai.
And now, if you've reached until here, then congratulations! Because 1 - You've read my thesis about tea. And 2 - because there is a possibility that you belong to the same tribe of chai-loving humans as I do.
La Fin.
End challenge: Count the number of times the word 'tea' or 'chai' appears in this post.
No wait, I don't want to call it a disorder. And I don't know what it is if not a disorder. But whatever it may be, I appreciate that it makes me love my cup of tea more and more everyday. Well so much that I, in fact, just realized that I have this weird hobby (if I can call it that) of tasting chai at every place I travel to. And this Instagram story of mine from a few months ago is proof.
And what this 30ml potion did to me after a 5 hour-long extremely bumpy ride is inexplicable. But I think you can understand only if you fall in the same league of tea obsession as I do. And this is why I say that having tea at every place I travel to is my hobby and also, necessity.
And I know that this does not even explain a quarter of my eternal love for tea. But if I do have to get into more details, maybe I could write a thesis about it. 'Effects of Tea on the Human mind: A research paper constructed from personal experiences' - How's that for a working title?
And here's what the contents of the thesis would look like:
a) Introduction to cutting chai - the red bull substitute for most Indians.
b) Personal experiences with tea - the one brewed at home vs. the one enjoyed best at chai tapri.
c) Personal experiences with tea II - tasting tea across India.
Okay I can't continue without elaborating on point c. There's so much to talk about it. I don't even know where to start. So I think let me use this picture from my Instagram as a trigger.
I was as much excited to visit this tea garden in Sikkim as I was about tasting tea here. And well the garden was definitely a pleasing sight. But the brewed tea - let's just say it didn't live up to the imaginary standards I had about chai from a tea garden. I was disappointed, but my love for tea never ceased. Because the next best experience I had during this trip was of this enthralling cup of tea by the Guwahati - Shillong Highway in a shady restaurant. I don't remember what I ate, but the taste of that amazing beverage lingers even today. But I think, it led me to more disappointment. Because the red tea that I had throughout Meghalaya wasn't much of a delight. But who knew my forthcoming travels were going to be accessorized by those little moments of joy that came from tasting different types and varieties of tea.
I can never forget the warmth that small cup of hot Kahwa gave me while I sipped it amidst a snow-covered Khardung-La in Ladakh. Or that addictive taste of butter tea which I gulped down cup after cup, for a 100 times in a day, with lunch, dinner and what not, again in Ladakh. Or the sachharine tea in Nagpur which I hated. or the joy that sipping butter tea again in Goa at a Tibetan restaurant gave me. Or those countless times I revisited my college and never left without having a cutting chai which tasted the same throughout all these years. Or the chai that refreshes me during my work hours. Or my most important morning ritual - adrak vaali chai.
And now, if you've reached until here, then congratulations! Because 1 - You've read my thesis about tea. And 2 - because there is a possibility that you belong to the same tribe of chai-loving humans as I do.
La Fin.
End challenge: Count the number of times the word 'tea' or 'chai' appears in this post.
No comments:
Post a Comment