It’s cold and raw in New York, but the Yankees are kicking butt and I’ve got a cup of some award-winning Rishi Masala Chai.
Yeah, this is pretty much to tea what mashed potatoes or scrambled eggs are to food, pure comfort. The best traditional Masala chai out there. And not only great-tasting, but since I don’t own stock in Monsanto I appreciate that it’s organic and I’m not getting a side of pesticide residue with my beverage.
Some tea snobs turn their noses up at chai. (“It’s not really a fine tea, old boy.”) But when you’re craving something rich, a cup of Darjeeling ain’t going to scratch the itch — not even the FTGFOP variety.
While it’s great if you make it the way you’d make your regular tea (use a five-minute steep), it’s even better if you make it the traditional Indian way. Forget the teapot and just use a saucepan. Two teaspoons of chai, one-and-a-half cups of water, half-cup of milk (or, in my case, vanilla Rice Dream), bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for five minutes. Add sugar, honey or agave syrup. Strain and serve and watch Mariano Rivera shut down the Angels for game number one. Strange. It doesn’t feel that cold in here any more.
Preparation
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Addendum: Makes a good iced tea, too.
Not gonna lie, I had to google what FTGFOP meant.
And in the spirit of acronyms, making chai is one of my favorite CTFO rituals.
Yeah, FTGFOP is a black-tea kinda thing. Fine tippy golden flowery orange pekoe, the best grade of black tea. The joke is that it really stands for “far too good for ordinary people.” Probably far too expensive for most people, too. Well, at least too expensive for me most of the time.
Not sure why the pekoe grades aren’t used for green teas, but I almost drink black teas exclusively these days, true to my Eastern European ancestry, save for the occasional oolong or Dragonwell. Of course, the ancestors probably used tea as a chaser for borscht and a boiled potato and not as some sort of kick-back relaxant.
CTFO? I assume in this context it’s “chill the freak out” and not “Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario.”
Children’s Trust Fund of Oregon, actually.
Addendum: Makes a good iced tea, too.
Not gonna lie, I had to google what FTGFOP meant.
And in the spirit of acronyms, making chai is one of my favorite CTFO rituals.
Yeah, FTGFOP is a black-tea kinda thing. Fine tippy golden flowery orange pekoe, the best grade of black tea. The joke is that it really stands for “far too good for ordinary people.” Probably far too expensive for most people, too. Well, at least too expensive for me most of the time.
Not sure why the pekoe grades aren’t used for green teas, but I almost drink black teas exclusively these days, true to my Eastern European ancestry, save for the occasional oolong or Dragonwell. Of course, the ancestors probably used tea as a chaser for borscht and a boiled potato and not as some sort of kick-back relaxant.
CTFO? I assume in this context it’s “chill the freak out” and not “Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario.”
Children’s Trust Fund of Oregon, actually.