First up, my most current obsession... CHAI!!! I used to love Chai, guzzling cup after cup of sugar filled imposters. Now, frankly they "sick me out." Last week I went out on a limb at City O' City in Denver, a place that I trust to deliver serious goods. Low and behold my taste buds ignited and I instantly new I was in the presence of greatness and even better authenticity. Rooted in Indian Ayurvedic teaching, chai is meant to awaken the mind and body. All the ingredients in Bhakti have elements of heat or”agni”, which refers to the energy of fire – a transformative energy. Ingredients: Organic Fair –Trade Tea, Organic evaporated Cane Juice, Fresh Ginger, Cardamom, Black Pepper, Fennel, and Clove. AKA DELICIOUSNESS!
I quickly came home and googled away to hunt down this Boulder based bevy. My heart was literally racing, I couldn't believe it was this easy and I had lived so many years with out "Special" Chai. Who wants regular old Chai when you can have Especial??? I read her story ...I assume it's a she...and well...first wanted to catch the first flight to India. Opted for an order of Bhakti Chai....at the least my taste buds could catch the flight. I saw the word Masala and immediately thought of my adventures attempting garam masala with low grade spices, and thought YES YES Ginger, Cardamom, Black Pepper, Clove , and Fennel......Add a little sweet kiss of evaporated Cane Juice and NAMASTE!
The Bhakti Story
I had always liked the milky sweet chai during my travels throughout India. I even grew to appreciate the charred milk patch, a silky piece of skin I would slurp with one inhale. But one day I was served something called "special" chai. It wasn't laced with hash, but fiery spices that awoke my mouth and ignited my body with a sudden vitality. As I moved north I learned special was code for masala, which is a blend of spices such as black pepper and ginger.
When I returned from India and couldn't find a chai that resembled "special" or masala, I began brewing my own at home in Nederland. My first bottling process began as holiday gifts for friends - mason jars of chai with Kabir poems as labels.
Bhakti means devotion through social action. I came to understand this meaning from the Swadhyay movement on the western coast of India - about the same time I became a Masala chai devotee.
Don't walk, RUN to your computer and see if they have this in your area. If not, they have a wonderful online store to purchase through. Give that old black coffee a rest and give your taste buds something to sing about. You'll be on your way to Zen Master before you know it.
Tomorrow: ChOCoLat???? Anybody...Anybody???
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