The Tea Boy of Mumbai

Hello Folks! Someone asked him, what is your blood group? He said, “Tea Positive!”

Chai

It’s almost criminal not to visit Mumbai if you come to India. It embodies all that India is. It will inspire you, confuse you, insult all your senses and you’ll love it all the more! Mumbai is boasting of a perfect combination of urban development and rich history, this city is known to have something for everybody. Hence, it is no surprise that Mumbai is commonly known as ‘The City of Dreams’.

Its magnetic attraction and an unparalleled charm is bound to make it difficult to leave Mumbai, once you tried chai in Mumbai.

Unfortunately, this is only a small portion of the world of beverage. However, till date, the general belief is that chai is the black blend consumed with sugar and milk. This is, in fact, a wrong notion. An authentic and good chai will offer a perfect balance of milk and tea. Most importantly, chai is not steeped, it is brewed. You should brew it in such a way that offers perfect combination of the sweetness of milk with added sugar and tannic flavour of black tea.

Tea is India's most popular drink - the country consumes 837,000 tonnes of it every year.

We know that sometime or other in everyone’s life romance has been written on page of fate. He predicts that on one side there would be no romance in his life, but there will be only Chaimance. (It’s Lame!)

Harvesting Tea

Tea is implanted in the essence of Indian culture that almost 80 percent of the million or so metric tons of tea it produces is consumed by its own people. India’s territory defines its tea-growing regions by the subcontinent’s significant differences in geography as well as climate.

For him, the world is on one side and chai has its own special space. Chai brings happiness and freshness in life. It makes our heart warm and chai is not a beverage, it is a feel!

Tea is considered as the ideal companion for many occasions in India. It’s the perfect way to enjoy a rainy day, the take sip of cup on a winter morning and even a energetic beverage on a hot summer afternoon. Tea is known to stimulate the senses and refresh the mind and body; therefore, it is consumed before big meetings, on a bad day, and to make your good day even better.

The Tea Boy: Chotu!

No matter where you are in India, you’re probably not very far from a chai stall, little roadside shacks that go by different names in different parts of the country. Tea sold at these humble outlets is often the cheapest and most delicious, the ideal refreshment in every kind of weather.

“Boss, ek cutting!” is a common daily usage. Most of the tea stalls in Mumbai begin their work at around 6 am in the morning and go upto 9 or 10 at night. There is never a dearth of customers or the regulars to whom cutting chai will be delivered at their work place without a fail by a boy mostly called chotu!

The Tea Boy of Mumbai: Chotu!

Cutting Chai is the street culture which defines Mumbai and its people. Each of the tea stalls or tapris will have their ‘secret method’ of making the tea which they would never disclose, yet its the people who make this culture great!

- Sarthak Niwate