Tea, for many, is more than just a beverage — it’s an experience, a memory, an emotion. On International Tea Day, actors share what makes their cup of chai different
Sumeet Vyas
If you are a theatre person, then you are a tea person and I have 12 cups a day. Adrak is the one non-negotiable ingredient or my tea feels incomplete. Adrak also helps me project my voice and opens it up during performances in a theatre. Now, even when I am not performing, I take my tea with ginger. The other essential with chai is biscuit — even if I am on a diet. If I don’t have a biscuit with my chai, I feel gareeb. I remember when I was young, my father, a writer, would call me to make tea for his guests in his office. Eventually, I started making such bad tea that they stop calling me.
Sunny Hinduja
Chai matlab sukoon. It’s three seconds of such. A cup of tea is a momentary escape, a breath amidst the chaos. I start my day with a special mix of pudina, adrak and elaichi in my tea which makes it flavourful. Main pehle pani ubalta hoon, phir pudina aur chai patti daalta hoon. Jab woh ache se boil ho jaye, toh main adrak aur elaichi koot kar usko daal deta hoon. Thoda ubalne ke baad, milk swaad anusar daalta hoon. When all this is done, I add gudd/gur to my tea. My tea is incomplete without, a wheat khari biscuit. During my early days, we used to have dhabbe walli chai- with milk, water and sugar in proper moderation with the best bunn maska.
Gagan Arora
{{/usCountry}}Chai matlab sukoon. It’s three seconds of such. A cup of tea is a momentary escape, a breath amidst the chaos. I start my day with a special mix of pudina, adrak and elaichi in my tea which makes it flavourful. Main pehle pani ubalta hoon, phir pudina aur chai patti daalta hoon. Jab woh ache se boil ho jaye, toh main adrak aur elaichi koot kar usko daal deta hoon. Thoda ubalne ke baad, milk swaad anusar daalta hoon. When all this is done, I add gudd/gur to my tea. My tea is incomplete without, a wheat khari biscuit. During my early days, we used to have dhabbe walli chai- with milk, water and sugar in proper moderation with the best bunn maska.
Gagan Arora
{{/usCountry}}My tea-hack is to steep green tea leaves or flower tea for 10 mins in a little bit of water and then pour hot water in a cup to enjoy the infused healthy drink. When the leaves are steeped properly, it brings out their goodness and flavour. While I sip on my beverage, I often journal — be it penning down an affirmation note or something I have been struggling with or even a fictional story.
Elnaaz Norouzi
In my world, tea is the solution to pretty much everything. It’s become a lifestyle and a habit. Most of my tea is from Germany, and I’ve many varieties. I have a specific tea for when I have a cold, one for my bronchitis, a tea for digestion… my friends joke that my house is full of tea. There are many benefits of consuming tea as a number of them have herbs which are beneficial for your body.