Chai: An Appreciation

One of the things we'll miss about India is chai. Even ordinary tea in India tends to be very good, but the best is masala chai - more or less what American coffee shops call "chai lattes" - black tea made with milk, sugar, and spices including cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves. Waking up on a train for an early-morning arrival, you're greeted by the chai wallahs, who will give you a small cup of perfect masala chai for five rupees - just what you need to get going.

While we were in Kumily, we had a chance to visit a tea plantation and factory. Rachel took some good photos.


The trees are used for firewood in the factory. The factory process was explained to us, but it was a little hard to understand what our guide was saying. Luckily, Lonely Planet also explains it:

After picking, the leaves are placed in a "withering trough," where high-speed fans reduce the moisture content to around 30%, before they're crushed with heavy rollers to force the remaining water to the surface. The rolled leaves are then fermented in a high-humidity chamber to produce their distinctive flavor... Fermentation is stopped by passing the leaves through a dry air chamber, which reduces the moisture to just 3%. With all this hot air flowing around, the smell of tea permeates every corner of the tea factory [it smells fantastic].