A spoonful of Mumbai’s favourite tea-time spots

Tea lovers rejoice! Here’s a tea-side story you’ll love

I’ve always been a tea loyalist. I start each day with a cup of scalding hot adrak chai. And at about 4pm every day, a gong sounds in my head. Whether I’m in an Andheri mall or on a Cape Town beach, I hypnotically head to the nearest stove, kettle or café. Some of those close to me think this is obsessive behaviour that I should work towards changing. Others see it as endearing. I myself feel if this is an addiction, it’s one I’m happy to live with. It’s a good subterfuge for more seriously worrying fixations. (Don’t get me started on dahi.)

Nothing beats the joy of sipping rich aromatic masala chai from a cutting glass on a winter evening!(Photo Imaging: Parth Garg)

My mother, used to a very milky concoction, has in her characteristically delicate manner, branded my tea ‘gutter water’

The sceptics question my methods. I begin with water and ginger, add the leaves, and finally, the milk. When it all brews over a low flame for about a minute, I’m done. This is sacrilege to the milk-goes-first sticklers. Still others swear by the no-leaves-on-a-flame method. George Orwell, who had as strong an opinion about tea as oppressive ideologies, insisted that sugar ruins the enjoyment of tea. So what is the correct method?