Chai Pilgrimage

My dear friend and teacher Hamid lovingly served me my first cup of masala chai 17 years ago. It was a moment I will never forget…sitting on the floor of his Chicago flat, the elevating aroma of incense mixed with spices, classical Indian rhythms vibrating through my being. Hamid emerged from the kitchen with two steaming cups of his spicy chai. I remember that first sip. It was the most delicious taste that had ever passed over my tongue. I sat spellbound in a chai-induced state of bliss as the chai coursed through my body. It warmed me all the way up to my soul.

I would go over to Hamid’s for tabla instruction, but before the lesson began, we would sit with our chai and embark on conversations led by our mutual love for the Divine. We would discuss spiritual practice and Hamid would illuminate the teachings of saints like Sri Ramakrishna and Bawa Muhaiyaddeen.  Hamid became a guiding light to my inner path. I learned by his living example the way of compassionate activity and the unity of all sacred traditions. Finishing the last sip of chai, the lesson was over and my drums would still be sitting in their bag. It soon became clear that tablas were not my forte and perhaps our meetings held another purpose.

When I finally asked him for his chai recipe he replied, “I’ll have to show you.” Along with the other spices he crushed up in his mortar and pestle, he would add enough peppercorns, black, white and red, to make it a fiery brew. After boiling it twice, he poured the chai back and forth between two pots to let it breath in the air element. Sometimes he would garnish it with a few strands of saffron. To me, the taste of saffron became synonymous with the heavenly taste of chai.  Still today, i use saffron as my special ingredient that rounds off the bitter taste of tea with a flowery high-note.

Hamid’s chai remains in my memory as the finest. He always made it with goat’s milk and maple syrup. When I started making my own chai, I didn’t know there was any other way. Now on those rare occasions when I drink goat milk chai, it reminds me of Hamid.

Hamid was my chai guru. He taught me not only how to make chai, but also his “secret.” He told me that chai should be prepared with prayer or mantra or loving intentions. This was the most important ingredient. It imbued the chai with a blessing that would pass onto whoever drank it. Since then, I have been preparing homemade chai almost daily. It is my ritual and my offering.