happiness and food

Almost every morning, I wake up to the lovely smell of tea cooking in my kitchen and this morning dose of tea is the only thing that keeps me going the entire day. No prizes for guessing that my husband takes care of our flavorful morning tea and even if he doesn’t help me in the kitchen during the rest of the day – I don’t fret! 😀

Tea and for that matter, coffee too makes up a big part of the daily routines of us Indians. We wake up with a tea, lemon tea or coffee every day. Then there is tea or coffee with breakfast. Then for some, there is one after lunch to keep them awake and then the evening cup and the reasons go on and on. A South Indian friend tells me that if you don’t have a filter coffee decanter at home, you are not a true South Indian. In North India it is very normal to offer tea any time during the day and obviously you cannot let the guests have tea alone. As a kid, I have seen guests keep coming one by one, and my mother preparing tea one after the other. And with every cup, both my mom and dad had a half cup each. That time I used to think, why can’t Mum just prepare and keep it in a thermos flask for the entire day? But no, that’s not acceptable. It has to be fresh! Thank God, there are Srinidhi Sagars in Bangalore 🙂

“A lot can happen over coffee”, “my mother has called you home over tea”, “let’s catch up over coffee” and even day long trainings or meetings have the concept of “high tea”. Why do you think the Café Coffee Day, Barista, Costa Coffee, Starbucks are thriving? These are all networking opportunities – or sharing over a cup! We also judge people if they don’t offer tea or coffee when you go meet them! Not to forget, in arranged marriages, sometimes, the flavor of the tea prepared decides whether the alliance will go through or not. Some mom-in-laws like mine take pride in the fact that no one prepares a better tea than their daughter-in-law (me). Although it is entirely different thing that my parents think there is too much milk in my tea.

Not just that, tea is also known to cure many ailments. Headache – have tea. Sore throat – have ginger tea. Want to lose weight – try green tea. Honey and lemon tea – great for health! Not to forget coffee too finds similar importance. Menstrual cramps – coffee helps. Kids don’t drink milk – add a pinch of coffee and they will love it. Hot outside – try cold coffee! Tons of permutations and combinations – all for this one cup anytime during the day!

Bollywood has gone a step ahead by even having songs that use “chai” in the lead role. So you know now how important tea is! It’s all about what is one’s preference? Some love and like it strong, some black, some with cream, some with ginger, some cardamom and some made by husband 😀

This post is inspired by the prompt – Just Another Day – Our days are organized around numerous small actions we repeat over and over. What’s your favorite daily ritual?

Also linking this post to the Daily Prompt – Pick Your Potion