Chai Pilgrimage

The journey of a tealeaf from the bush to your chai pot requires both human and technical precision.  In Darjeeling and Sikkim, we traversed the steep slopes of several tea estates, mingling with the tealeaf pluckers as they worked.  Their careful eyes determine the maturity of each leaf while they quickly and nimbly pluck the first two leaves and a bud from each tea bush stem.  They toss the leaves over their shoulders into a doko, a woven bamboo basket supported by a forehead strap called a namlo.  It bewilders the mind to consider each of the many leaves of tea that we consume daily has been touched by human hands.  In the hill regions we visited, handpicking is the only viable method of harvesting.

At huge tea estates in the plains of Assam and other flatter tea growing regions in India, sometimes machines are used to harvest.  Unlike the handpicking method, harvesting machines cannot determine the quality and ripeness of each leaf and the leaves are usually damaged in the process.  This is fine for lesser quality teas, but does not meet the standards of an Orthodox tea, where an in tact, whole leaf is perfection.

After harvest, the leaves are taken to the factory where they undergo one of two methods of processing, Orthodox or CTC.  First we look at the orthodox method and the 4-step process of withering, rolling, oxidizing and firing.

Withering – After being harvested and weighed, the tealeaves are spread out on long metal troughs in a shaded area to wither. As the moisture evaporates, the leaves become limp and pliable so they can be rolled with the least amount of damage. This can take about 14-20 hours depending on humidity and other conditions. The trained senses of the tea producer know precisely when the leaves are ready for rolling.

Rolling -Traditionally this was done by hand, but the process has been mechanized for large-scale tea production. Some of the rolling machines we saw at the Makaibari factory are still being used after 100 years. The rolling machine applies pressure to the wilted leaves while rotating them around each other in order to release the chemicals stored in the cells of the leaf. This initiates the oxidizing process that gives the tea its characteristic color and flavor.

Oxidation –The leaves are then laid out so the natural chemicals in the tealeaf can react with the air. Again, timing is essential. The leaves must oxidize long enough to bring out the complexity of flavors, but if oxidized too long, the tea becomes too strong and loses the more subtle tastes. This step takes about 2-4 hours. The oxidation process is the main distinction between black tea and green tea, which is not oxidized.

Firing – To halt the oxidizing process and dry the tea completely, the leaves are then put through a drying machine. They pass by conveyor belt through a charcoal fired heater at a temperature of 220-250 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20-40 minutes.

After the tea is thoroughly dried it is ready to be sorted by leaf grade. This is done with a machine that shakes the dried leaves over varying gauges of mesh to sift out the tea according to size. The largest, superior leaves may also be hand-sorted again.  It is critical to keep the same size leaves together because when it is time to steep the tea, the smaller pieces will steep quickly and the larger, full-sized leaves will infuse more slowly. If they are mixed, the smaller leaves will over-steep and throw off the refined flavor of a fine tea. Leaf grade does not necessarily indicate quality, but a young, whole leaf generally demands a higher price than broken leaf grade.

The Orthodox method of tea processing creates a more sophisticated tea with the multi-layered taste preferred by tea connoisseurs.  A good quality orthodox tea will go a long way to improve the flavor of your masala chai. However, because the character of a full leaf tea is more delicate, you may want to use less milk, sugar and spices so you can appreciate the tea flavor.

The CTC (crush, tear, curl or cut, tear, curl) method is a little different.  It is a quicker, more brutal process, as the name implies, and is generally used for less expensive production of inferior quality leaves. Tealeaves destined for CTC processing may be picked by machine or hand-harvested. After the leaves wither, they are put into a machine that compresses the leaves, tears them apart, and curls them into little balls. They then go through the oxidizing and firing process.

CTC tea possesses a robust flavor because the greater surface area of the grain allows it to steep quickly. For brewing masala chai, CTC tea works well because its intense character can push its way through the spices and milk. Throughout India, most households and street-side chai wallahs use cheap CTC tea, boiling it thoroughly and reusing the tea.

With the success of the movie Slumdog Millionaire, we have received many visitors to our what is a chai wallah? post, from those unfamiliar with the term.  To clarify the term chai wallah as it is used in the movie, and to offer a poignant example of this site’s intent, we thought it appropriate to offer an addendum to that post.

From the opening torture scene, to young Jamal jumping into a pit of feces porridge, we realize that we are embarking on a visual journey through the raw reality of India and the dark underbelly of human existence. Although it comes across more subtly than Jamal’s shit bath, when the game show host refers to Jamal as chai wallah, it portrays a deeply-rooted issue that smells even worse: the discrimination perpetuated by the Indian caste system.

In the movie, when call center employee, Jamal, says that one of his assistant duties is serving tea, the game show host cuts him off mid-sentence and mockingly refers to him as chai wallah.  This is not because Jamal is a chai wallah in the traditional sense, but because being a chai wallah is an occupation generally held by members of a lower societal status, and by doing this, he designates the “low” stature of his guest to the audience.  The fact that the host can repeatedly condescend his guest on national television with a smile on his face, and have the audience laughing along with him, is indicative of the limited mindset of those who adhere to the hierarchal Indian caste system, equivalents of which are present in every nation on the planet, where the elite cast judgment and degrade a person because of their “placement” in society. (Of course, not all those who are karmically blessed with affluence hold ethnic prejudice in their hearts and display it through their actions.)

This is not only an Indian dilemma, but a human predicament that chains us to the gross realm of egoic illusion and prevents us from recognizing our own True Divine Nature. To put down the chai wallah, or any other human for that matter, debases the entire human race.

As you can see by our illustration of chai wallahs, we hope to elicit the exact opposite sentiment.  To us, the chai wallah is the welcoming face of India who embodies the Vedic tradition of Atitihi Devo Bhava, or treating the guest as God, no matter who they are. Our vision is to portray the chai wallah, the clay cup potter, the tealeaf plucker and any other “lower caste” humans as unique expressions of the divine who are worthy of being glorified.  We are all the same.  This experiential realization was the greatest boon of our pilgrimage.

What is a chai wallah?  A manifestation of the Divine Presence who is blessed with the humble duty of serving up a sweet break in a sometimes bitter world.

Thanks for visiting our site.  Click on home and check out the rest of it.  Namasté

Here’s a lively sermon from Pastor Eddie D. Smith to sip your morning chai to.  For a more extensive explanation of Namaste, check out this earlier post.  And again, Namaste!

Above: Indian and Nepali biscuit wallahs & a happy biscuit dippin’ customer

The only thing better than a tasty cup of chai, is a cup of chai with some chai dipping biscuits to dip in it.  A handful of biscuits and a cup of milky masala chai can almost serve as an entire meal.  Either a good neutral-tasting biscuit, or one that harmonizes with the taste of your tea, is the preferred vehicle to absorb the chai flavor.

Fresh, ‘oven baked’ chai cookies by a biscuit wallah in Rishikesh, India

The integrity of the biscuit is also important.  You want one that can soak up a lot of chai, but that won’t fall apart and end up as dissolved confectionary sludge on the bottom of your cup.

Jenny dippin’ in Darjeeling, India

In India, Parle-G’s are the unofficial national biscuit.  They have been a sweet part of the Indian dipping ritual for over 65 years.  Even though I question the packages’ claim that they are a healthy snack, I have, on more than one occasion, sat around a chai stall and consumed an entire package with a couple cups of chai.

A Parle-G delivery truck in Benares, India

One Parle G memory we will always remember, is buying a package of Parle G’s on an Indian railway platform, only to remove the wrapper and find that somebody had sealed another package inside of a different brand with a lower rupee value.  We had to appreciate this ingenious Indian grassroots-marketing ploy.

Back home though, our diet is a bit more refined, and we shy away from white flour, refined sugar and artificial flavors.  Our personal favorite store-bought chai dipping biscuits are Heaven Scent almond windmill cookies and Mi-del ginger snaps.  The windmill cookies win out for texture, soak-ability and a size that allows multiple dips without getting your fingers wet.  They are not too sweet and have a mild flavor that complements the flavor of chai.  The ginger snaps are quite crunchy, but soften nicely after withstanding a long dip.  They bring their own sweetness and ginger flavor to the chai without introducing any conflicting taste sensations.  Both are available at most natural food stores.

If you enjoy baking, check out our Yogi Chai Biscuit post and download a colorful recipe card.

To celebrate Jenny’s new Chai Pilgrimage selection on cardstore.com, we are giving away a set of 5 of our favorite cards.  To enter, just leave a comment on this post describing your favorite masala chai.  We will select the winner at random on Thursday, March 12th and announce it in a post later that day.  The lucky winner will be contacted by email for a mailing address.  Good luck and thanks for visiting our site!

“If we are not living an optimistic life, then what is there?”
- Veer Bhadra Mishra

Each morning, while the sun’s predawn glow radiates from below the horizon on the opposite shore of the Ganga, 60,000 bathers purify their souls in the holy river’s water along the ghats (steps to the river) of Benares.  At Tulsi Ghat, where the great poet-saint Tulsidas composed the popular version of the Hindi epic Ramayana 400 years ago, resides the modern-day spiritual warrior Veer Bhadra Mishra.  We joined Mishra in his unembellished room, stationed at the top of the long flight of steep stairs leading up from the river, like a sentinel post above the sacred Ganga. Now in his 60’s, the white-haired, white-clad Mishra, has been the mahant, or spiritual head, of the renowned Sankat Mochan Temple since the age of 14.  In addition to his duties as high priest and administrator of the temple, Mishra is also a hydraulics engineer who served as head of the civil engineering department at the prestigious Benares Hindu University.  These seemingly contrasting roles prepared the impassioned, yet calm and gentle Mishra to take on an even greater responsibility that he told us is “the mission of my life” – to clean up the heavily polluted River Ganga.

Although the Ganga is spiritually pure, endowed with the ability to cleanse sins and liberate souls, she is also exceedingly saturated with raw sewage dumped into the river along the 7-kilometer stretch of Benares. Wastewater and industrial contamination from upstream add the river’s dilemma, as well as animal carcasses and human remains that end up in the river because of families who could not afford wood for a proper cremation.  This noxious combination of toxins breeds a plethora of waterborne diseases including amoebic dysentery, cholera, hepatitis and typhoid.

Professor Mishra told us that despite these health dangers, people continue to bathe because of the centuries-old intimate relationship between traditional Hindu culture and the river, “They cannot live without Ganga as a fish cannot live without water.  For them Ganga is divine, Ganga is Goddess.  Looking at her with devotion, touching her water, submerging our body into her waters and sipping that water will give you Bhukti and Mukhti – will give you well being in this world and salvation after you leave.”  But he also warned, “If they go on using the polluted water, at some point they will die, and with them this culture associated with Ganga.  This tradition and these endangered species of human beings will be over.”

Motivated by immense love and respect for Ganga, in 1982 Mishra spearheaded the formation of the Sankat Mochan Foundation.  Sankat Mochan is a name for the Hindu deity Hanuman and literally means “the reliever of dangers and difficulties.” Their vision is to restore the Ganga by alleviating deteriorating environmental conditions, to promote education and health care programs for the less privileged and to maintain the ancient cultural traditions of Benares. With international support, SMF works with the community to educate everyone from children and boatmen to government officials about environmental concerns affecting the Ganga.  Mishra tells us, this takes an understanding of cultural sensitivities, “If I start talking with the common people and say that ‘Ganga is filthy, dirty, it’s polluted,’ people would say ‘please do not say this, it is unbelievable, this is disrespect to Ganga Ma.’  But if you take them to a point where the sewage is discharging to the river and show them what is happening, they say ‘this must stop.’”

With the help of engineers from UC Berkeley, SMF developed a plan to completely eliminate sewage discharge into the river.  It involves an interceptor line that catches the sewage before it runs into the river and feeds it by gravity to a series of treatment ponds that utilize algae to transform the wastewater into usable water for land irrigation and fishery ponds.  This technological solution is less expensive to build and operate than the current government-installed system that relies on large amounts of regular electricity (a rarity throughout India) and is not suited to clean up the levels of pollution found in the Ganga.  Mishra hopes that once Benares succeeds in transforming their portion of the river, it can be a model for all the cities on the Ganga, all the rivers in India and endangered environments throughout the world.
Although SMF has the support of the residents and the local government for their plan’s implementation, the state and federal government refuses to budge from their failing program.  The greatest obstacle to a clean Ganga in Benares has become the power, ego and selfish financial priorities of India’s mired political system even when “they know in their heart of hearts” they must do the right thing.  “I know that one has to be persistent and one has to be resilient.  So, I’m both,” Mishra tells us, “I’m just not creating any tension for myself and I believe in God and I believe in miracles.  Some day something will happen and we will be able to clean this river.”

Click image to enlarge.

The Ganges River is affectionately referred to as Ganga Ma by Hindus who revere the river as nature’s embodiment of the Divine Mother. It is said she flows from Heaven onto the matted hair of Lord Shiva’s head before descending onto Earth in the Himalayas.

Art by Shiv-Ram of Ramana’s Garden Orphanage, Rishikesh, India :: Artseva.org

If she were to hit the Earth directly, her intense force would destroy it. Ganga Ma flows through Northern India, traveling over 1500 miles from the Gangotri glacier to the Bay of Bengal, bringing her life-giving waters and compassionate blessings to all along her path. She heals the land, making it fertile as her waters overflow during monsoon season. To touch or even look upon her is believed to be a great blessing. Our friends Deepu and Vijay showed us photos of the flood that spilled into their house when the river rose during heavy monsoons. They enthusiastically told us, “Yes, Mother Ganga came in and blessed our family’s home. We were very happy.”

To bathe in her life-transforming waters removes all sins and can bestow moksha, or eternal liberation from the cycles of death and rebirth. Every Hindu desires to dip into this holy river at least once in their lifetime. It is auspicious to have one’s ashes offered to the Ganga after death to be carried directly to Heaven. As she flows, she gathers both prayers and sins to be sanctified and released into the depths of the ocean. She is liquid grace, unfathomable and eternally giving. She is Mother.