Pink Chai Pot

Sitting in my kitchen sink is a pink chai pot that has been in my house for as long as I can remember. I started drinking chai from an early age partially because my dad’s an addict, but mostly because my parents were always hosting people. In South Asian households, it’s a custom to always offer your guest tea, and rarely did anyone ever turn down that offer. It would almost be a sin to have guests over and not offer them tea and biscuits. This was a custom, which later turned into my own little addiction. 

The first time I made chai on my own was while I was hanging out with my neighbor. She and I both thought it would be fun to make tea and have a tea party. I set the pink tea pot on the stove, poured in one cup of water, and let the teabags sit. When the water became a clear brown color, I poured in the milk, just as I watched my mother do many times before. The end result wasn’t the best. That day our chai tasted like teabags. We poured in a lot of sugar to make the chai taste less like the tea bag, which just made everything worse. That first day, I ended up pouring the whole pot of chai down the drain. 

The second time I made chai was during a family function. All my relatives were over for the weekend. My mom as her usual hostess duty was getting ready to make chai. This time instead of watching make chai, I asked her if she would let me make it instead. She was hesitant at first, but then agreed. This time, instead of free-styling it, I brought the pot to my mom every step of the way to check if I was making it correctly. She guided me on how much water to use, how many tea bags to put in, and most importantly how much milk to pour in. I learned that the reason my chai tasted like teabags was because I didn’t pour in enough milk! 

When the chai was done brewing, my mom made me pour everyone a cup. It felt as if I was in an Indian drama, where the girl is made to bring tea for the guest, and it’s this intense moment because this was the defining moment of young adulthood for a brown girl. Of course, all my relatives liked the tea because my mom practically made it, but they still gave me credit for it. I got a lot of compliments about how I was such a good kid, and how they wanted to trade their kids for me, all because of a cup of tea. As a kid seeking approval, these kinds of comments made me excited to help my mom around the kitchen, but also make chai for guests. 

In later years, around my freshman year of high school, I began drinking chai everyday. I’d make chai for my dad, and in turn, there would be a cup for me. This was the start of my addiction because my dad drinks three cups a day! Once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening. After coming home from school, I’d sit down on the couch with my dad and we’d both sit quietly and drink a cup of chai. Thinking back to it, my pink chai pot has been the start of thousand memories with some of my closest loved ones.