Tuesday, June 27, 2006

The Arabic Chai King

So I was fortunate enough after a one year tour in Iraq to smuggle home some of the loose leaf black tea the Iraqi folk use to make their chai tea. All I can say is I have come damn close to perfecting it. If only I could have smuggled that old Iraqi man who made this sweet elixer on our base in my duffle bag too...

It's a tricky deal (atleast for me) to get timing of the boiling and simmer of the tea leaves once added to the boiling water just right; it's a combination of looking for the right color, smell and taste. I use a heaping tablespoon of tea to a little over 1 cup of water. Maybe I don't do it right, but any other combination I've tried leaves it too bitter or with no taste at all.

I don't add all the hoo-ha to my tea like some people do either; milk, cardamon seeds, ginger, cinamon and shit like that only takes away from the true flavor. I just put enough sugar to balance out the bitterness.

Anyrate, If you're any sort of tea drinker and you haven't tried this shit yet, drop me a line, I'll gladly hook you up with a tea bag to sample it.

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