Not Thinking Anymore

The Subtle Art Of Tea Making

DISCLAIMER: This chapter is solely based on the author's love for tea. It's not targeted to hurt feelings or belittle other beverages.

I  am in unconditional, deep-rooted, unshakable LOVE with tea (chai). And trust me it's not one-sided, my tea understands me and I comprehend her. It shapes according to my mood and just like a good lover, leaves me satisfied and happy.

Tea is made up of dried leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis. It originated from north Burma and Southwestern China and from there spread into the world in various forms. It is known by various names such as tea, chai, chay, thé, té, tee etc. And of course, there are many forms of it like black tea, green tea, oolong, herbal tea, fermented tea, yellow tea and then every place have their own way to prepare it. ( yeah, I totally googled it)

For example, my roommate belongs from mountains and she drinks salted tea. No offence to salted tea but I puked after drinking a sip of it,  anyway, fun times, but let me introduce you to the art of tea making that will suit all your moods. Take your pen and papers out cause this my friends is a life lesson.

First and foremost determine do you want to have a quick cup or you can wait. If you want a quick fix, then it's simple. Firstly take a deep vessel and add half cup water. Then before it starts boiling add sugar (according to taste) or else it won't completely melt and your tea wouldn't be sweet enough. Now let it boil for a few seconds and then add tsp tea.

The very crucial step that you let it boil for some time, don't add milk too soon or else you will just be having tea flavoured milk, not the original tea. Add half cup milk and after adding it let it come to boil once if you want light tea and if you want a stronger version let it boil for 30-40 seconds.

In case it gets stronger than you intended it to be, for the sake of god, please don't add more sugar to balance the acidity. ADD MILK. A quick boil and you have steaming awesomeness ready. That's it, just strain it in a cup and bon appetit.

If like me somedays you just want something a little extra then I have a perfect upgrade for tea. Keep the above basic recipe same and add cardamom and clove before you add tea in water. Here again, don't be idiots by throwing them directly into the water. Crush them both and then put it in and you will have the most amazing fragrance in your kitchen.
Just a small tip, if you live with your mother then don't put more than 3 cardamom or cloves or else your mother is gonna sell you to have the money compensated. Apparently, these both ingredients are hella expensive.

How can we forget guest arrivals? If you want to impress anyone with your tea, add cinnamon along with cardamom and cloves and voila, you have THE best tea to serve. But follow my word as gospel here, you don't wanna add cinnamon more than half a tsp else it's going to overpower over everything. Trust me, been there, done that and the embarrassment that followed almost made me a coffee person.

Then there is tea for occasions when you are sick. Sore throat and cold, add crushed ginger and it works like magic on your throat. Indigestion or stomach aches or vomits, add fennel seeds (saunf) and carom seeds (ajwain) with the base recipe and you can thank me later. Problems like fatty liver can be eased with a ginger and turmeric tea and I have tried this one multiple times, not as bad as I thought.

My roommate made important additions to the list like brown sugar and asafoetida( hing) tea and pepper and honey tea for immunity. I would never admit to her but yes these were good too.

I am a temperamental person so usually, my mood decides the tea for me. Like most days its cloves and cardamom one. The days I feel like self-care and have music plugged in my ears then it's the special ones especially the ginger tea.

And then there are days when I am angry and low on patience, those days are coffee days. No offence to coffee but it's a much easier process, fewer utensils to wash and a faster caffeine fix. I do like the bitter taste of whipped coffee but making it is a time-consuming process and I need to be in a great mood to make it.

But these days the real offender is my dad. Firstly his biggest crime, he puts everything that is water, milk and tea in the pan and then put it on the stove. I mean who does that. There is a damn process to make tea, follow it man.

Secondly, his experiments with tea are just unethical. He seriously adds every spice he can find in the kitchen. This morning he made me wheatgrass, liquorice (mulethi) and ashwagandha tea, supposedly it's a mood and immunity enhancer. With COVID in the air, his passion for experiments with tea has increased. The rate at which he is going, before any health agency he is gonna invent some miracle tea against coronavirus.

I on the other hand stick to the basic teas only, apart from the times I enjoy green tea and cold lemon teas but those are rare occasions. However the form and type, I love my teas to the moon and back. It's quite common for me to sneak hot cups of tea in my lectures from the college canteen. And though my love is not dependent on any season but I can give you my limited edition midliner highlighter set in exchange for a single cup of tea during winters.

All in all, you get my point, I like the process and I certainly love the product. It's like a self-care thing for me. A hot cup of tea, a book from Wattpad and a peaceful corner of the house is the perfect me time in my eyes.

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A/N So how did you find my exaggerated love for tea.

Comment if you have any other combinations for tea. I am all open for trying. I would also like to know what are your favourite beverages.

Bye!! My tea is getting cold.