The first part of 2012, I was in the middle of one of the most amazing adventures of my life. I was living in India, housed by Tibetans, working at a non-profit run by South Koreans and staffed by a revolving door of international volunteers. The clash of cultures was almost dizzying, but I was buckled in and enjoying that wild ride. That’s what I signed up for! The journey did not disappoint. I took part in a unique experience I will never have again; one that exposed me to multiple cultures and personalities I had never experienced growing up in the Midwest. It is impossible to go through something like that and leave unchanged. It is impossible to go through something like that and not carry somethings forward through the rest of your life. One of those things, for me, was chai.
I have often likened chai in India to coffee in the US. Just as you can find a Starbucks every other block here, you could find a chai wallah every hundred yards in even the smallest Indian towns. Not only did I get frequent direct exposure on the streets of Dharamsala, but within my host house as well. One of the fascinating things I experienced, having lived with Tibetans, is how they welcomed Indian customs into their way of living. I personally think some of that had to do with gratitude; the Tibetan community in Himachal Pradesh was, truthfully, a refugee community. India graciously opened its doors to Tibetans fleeing Chinese persecution over fifty years ago when the Dalai Lama himself came over the Himalaya to Dharamsala, and since then thousands have followed. A community was allowed to thrive in the foothills of the Himalaya without persecution, and Tibetans expressed their gratitude by incorporating Indian ways of life into their own customs. One example is language; while the Indians I interacted with were bilingual, most Tibetans were trilingual. They adopted the language of India, and English. Tibetans and Indians even share a similar fashion palate.
But the Tibetans also adopted masala chai, and I am forever grateful. For one, I never really could stomach traditional Tibetan yak butter tea (po cha). Yak butter tea is just what it sounds like: black tea with gobs of butter made from yak milk, and some salt. I’m sure Keto fanatics would LOVE it. The high fat content makes it ideal for those mountain dwellers, and Tibetans long ago learned how to utilize as much of their native animal as possible. This tea was a product of that, and Tibetans will drink a gallon of the stuff a day. I tried po cha multiple times but, folks, it is just not a tasty drink. Thankfully, Tibetans hooked into chai pretty easily and while I was living there my Tibetan host mom, Dolma, had chai on tap for us... not po cha!
I lived in India for four months. I was a “long-term” volunteer. Most of my fellow volunteers, folks from literally all around the world, stayed for 2-4 weeks at the longest. This meant that I received a revolving door of international introductions, but it also meant that the world around me changed every half a month as old friends left and new friends came in. Chai connected us, bonded me to worldwide adventurers and do-gooders, and stayed with me as they left. The perpetual accessibility of this drink was a constant that I held onto during numerous changes in India, and became for me one of the greatest symbols to remember that time by. I remember the smell of the chai I drank while talking about Michael Jackson with my British friends Deb and Kelly. I remember the taste of the chai while discussing how a four hour roadtrip in the US could get you across the state while the same in Europe would get you into another country with a mother/daughter team from Ireland. I remember Dolma pouring out cups of chai for me and my Spanish friends, talking politics. I remember laughing with chai in hand with Michaela, and Nirali, and Dawa, and Paige, and Eddie, and Sara... chai in India was the vehicle of bonding. It bonded me to these people. It bonded me to a complete sensory experience I had never had before. It bonded me to those memories.
Chai became an experience of both comfort and adventure for me. The comfort of sweet warmth, of good conversation and wonderful people. The adventure of spice, of new cultures, of leaving all of my comfort zones. It is only natural that chai would stick with me after I left and came back to the States. The desire to recapture those dual, and sometimes dueling, senses drove me to seek chai out in every form I could find it, and is what ultimately led me to create it for myself.
Midwest Chai was purposefully named: it connects my past with my present. It connects who I was as a child of Middle America with the world traveler I became when I decided to move halfway around the world. It connects the good old meat and potatoes German palate of my upbringing with the spice and adventure of Indian cuisine. And now, it connects my past from India to my present of sharing it with those I love and new friends back here... in the Midwest. It connects everyone who buys my chai with the comfort of a warm drink on a chilly night and the adventure of something that challenges your taste buds; an adventure that brings the cup back to your lips for another sip. It’s a full circle journey, and it’s all connected with chai; a journey that never ends. It is as fluid and exciting as the drink itself. So please, join me! Find your place in the adventure. Be delighted, challenged, invigorated, calmed, and satisfied. Experience your own journey to India and back again, every time you drink Midwest Chai.
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