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Chai Is My Form of Meditation

Sometimes I simply need to stop and smell the tea

There are a lot of things that confuse me about my Indian-American identity, but chai is not one of them. I’ve always understood chai.

Chai is my mother’s encouragement, handed to me in a steaming mug promptly at 4:00 PM while I crammed for exams.

Chai is my grandmother’s love in a small, stainless steel cup, accompanied always by a plate of savory snacks, and a question — “Is the sugar okay?” — asked in my native language.

Chai is a family friend’s hospitality, even though my introverted self feels awkward and tongue-tied around them.

Chai is warmth.

Chai — black tea with milk, often sweetened and brewed with spices — is the ubiquitous beverage of India. It’s also much more than that. Serving chai is the most basic gesture of kindness and hospitality you can show an individual. It’s telling the person to whom you hand the cup, “Be at ease. Lay down your worries. I care about you.”

When I started living by myself, chai became an expression of kindness towards myself.

Whenever I start feeling overwhelmed, or when my thoughts start getting too negative, or when I’m too depressed or anxious to leave the house — I stop everything and make myself a cup of chai.

Brewing chai doesn’t take very long, but the simple act of assembling ingredients and watching the milk boil, with the scent of spices wafting towards me, is incredibly soothing.

What goes into my cup? Glad you asked.

My super easy style of cardamom chai

Chai is all about individual preference. Every South Asian person probably has their own version of how to make chai. I encourage you to experiment to find your own favorite flavors. Here’s my preferred method of making cardamom chai:

1. In a small saucepan, pour about 1.5 cups (~350 ml) of cold milk. You can use any kind of milk you like, but keep in mind this will change the taste of the resulting beverage. I like using 1% or 2% milk.
2. Pour 2 heaping teaspoons of looseleaf black tea into the milk and add 1/6 tsp ground cardamom (or 1 crushed cardamom pod). You can also add any other kind of spice you’d like or use pre-mixed chai masala, found at Indian markets or Whole Foods. [Confession: I almost never do this step. Instead, I get my favorite type of teabag (Tetley Elaichi) from the Indian market, cut open 2 bags, and dump the contents into the milk.] Another note — I like brewing my chai directly in milk, no water! While I love the flavor of tea, when it comes to chai, I prefer my drink to be strong and creamy. Since milk is thicker and more viscous than water, I typically use twice the amount of tea leaves in order to get both flavor and creaminess.
3. On medium heat, slowly bring the milk to a boil, stirring constantly. It’s important to stir so you don’t burn the milk or let it boil over.
4. Boil the milk until the color of the tea comes out and you can smell the cardamom. Usually this takes 5–7 minutes. I grab my Kindle and read or just daydream while staring at the tea. You’d be surprised how calming it is.
5. Turn off the heat, cover the saucepan, and let sit for 4 minutes.
6. Pour your chai into a cup. Use a mesh tea strainer (like this one) to catch the tea grounds and spices.
7. Sweeten if needed. I usually add 1/2 to 1 tsp of sugar.

Once I have my cuppa, I usually get cozy on the sofa, grab a favorite book or turn to my favorite show on Netflix. And for the duration of that cup, I forget whatever I’m worrying about and just focus on the warmth and comfort of chai.

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