Chai, cha, a brew, tea, a cuppa… whatever you call it, tea is big in our culture. We mock the UK soap opera EastEnders for always surrendering to tea in times of stress, but we Indians are the same. No sooner have you stepped into someone’s house and the familiar offer of ‘chai, pani?’ (Tea, water?) is made, before the familiar aroma of tea leaves, chai masala and steamed milk floats out of the kitchen.
So what is it about tea that makes it so special? Warming, comforting, sharing, soothing, caffeine boost – they’re some of the words various friends and family members came up with when asked. Indians generally enjoy our tea with milk and sugar. It’s not known how this taste developed, whether it originated during British rule or whether Indians passed on their love for cow’s milk to the British.
Add to that growing evidence that tea contains cancer-fighting anti-oxidants, and with the caffeine-free options of green and herbal tea growing in number and popularity, it’s no wonder we are drinking more and more of our beloved beverage.
For me, a freshly made mug of warmly spiced, slightly sweet Indian chai is one of life’s simplest yet most rewarding offerings. Non-tea-drinkers find this almost ludicrous, but only a true tea addict knows the comfort a cuppa can bring!
And now, unsurprisingly, India itself has a thriving tea tourism industry. Tea cultivation bloomed under the British Empire and now India is the world’s largest tea exporter. There are around 1500 different teas in the world, produced by 25 different countries including China, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. So it’s not surprising that tourism has followed suit.
Like the wine regions of Europe and the coffee plantations of Central America, India’s tea estates offer similar tours and holidays, with package holidays to Assam, Darjeeling in West Bengal and other renowned tea-producing regions like Munnar in Kerala, Palampur in Himachal Pradesh and Ooty in Tamil Nadu.
And why not? If you love wine, you visit a vineyard, beer lovers flock to breweries, so if you love tea, a holiday on a tea estate seems an equally logical and fun choice, learning about its heritage, how it’s grown and tastings. Often combined with yoga, spa or eco tourism, tea estates offer peaceful, relaxing stays amid jaw-dropping hillside scenery – not to mention the chance to binge on your favourite brew all day long…
Meera Dattani is a London-based freelance journalist with a chronic case of itchy feet. She has worked wirelessly and tirelessly from internet cafes and beaches across the globe, from Buenos Aires and Kampala to Melbourne and Ho Chi Minh City. Writing about travel, people, social and cultural trends is what gets her fingers tapping. She’s also a keen tennis player with a brutal backhand, a real foodie and a big fan of all things eco-friendly.
Peta Jinnath Andersen is a freelance and fiction writer. Born in Sydney, Australia, to a Fiji-Indian father and Scottish mother, she’s a bit confused about her background, but loves it all the same. Currently living in the US, she has just had her first child, and is busy studying hard in an effort to learn more about her Indian heritage – including taking Hindi lessons – so she can teach her son about just what it is that makes an NRI special.
on April 16, 2010
at 11:54 pm
bingo!
in mumbai we have the ‘cutting chai’ which is half a glass of richly brewed in milk chai that peps one up in any weather
on April 16, 2010
at 11:56 pm
Kerala drinks weak tea with very little milk in it and they believe that tea gets poisonous if boiled…so water is boiled and tea leaves allowed to brew in it in a teapot covered with a tea-cozy.
Gujarath on the other hand boils tealeaves in the thickest milk ever found, till the tea is puddle water muddy in colour!
And this is India…we live united with all our differences!
on April 17, 2010
at 6:04 pm
I am a tea addict…and I wish to go to some sort of this holiday
on April 20, 2010
at 3:17 am
And the post says: common tour tea-gardens And added on list. Will tour for sure And will write about the same. 1500 tea varieties that is serious subject And we should talk about the same.
Thanks for writing. Keep writing.
on September 6, 2010
at 12:13 am
So nice to see there are so many tea lovers out there. I’ll keep writing if you keep drinking. Biscuit-dipping a must
Meera
on June 21, 2011
at 5:03 am
Kenya commands around 32% of global exports and probably should be the largest exporter of tea as on date – how the global equation changes!
Try Arunachal for once as a tourism destination – the experience is exhilarating!!
on July 28, 2011
at 8:50 am
The best place for tea holidays in India is definitely Assam which is the land of tea. There are many British era heritage bungalows situated amidst lush tea gardens and they provide a person with the best experience of British tea culture. Some of the bungalows are more than 100 year old and were built by the British. I run a small Eco tourism initiative and we offer tea holidays in Assam for people interested. Nice article and a much needed one.