flipCha, the Afternoon Milk Tea
Cha, the Afternoon Milk Tea
Why this dish? Tea accompanies all of Sen's life, from Santiniketan to the common rooms of Trinity College, Cambridge. The Bengali adda — those long discussions where one reshapes the world — takes place with a cup of cha in hand, and it is in this climate of exchange and debate that his thinking was forged.
A black tea from Assam or Darjeeling brewed with milk, sugar, and a touch of ginger or cardamom. The drink of conversation and intellectual work.
Nothing I have written was truly thought in silence: everything was born in conversation, and conversation, in our land, is drunk. With a cup of cha in hand, we discuss for hours — that is what we call adda, and it is there, more than in any library, that ideas are born. In Santiniketan as in Cambridge, I liked it very hot, barely sweetened, lifted by a shard of ginger. Pour it from a height, so it froths a little, and sit down: a good debate always begins that way.
- •Black tea from Assam or Darjeeling — une bonne pincée (base)
- •Milk — selon le goût (roundness)
- •Sugar — un peu (sweetness)
- •Ginger or cardamom — un éclat (flavor)
Cha, the Afternoon Milk Tea
A black tea from Assam or Darjeeling brewed with milk, sugar, and a touch of ginger or cardamom. The drink of conversation and intellectual work.
Why this dish? Tea accompanies all of Sen's life, from Santiniketan to the common rooms of Trinity College, Cambridge. The Bengali adda — those long discussions where one reshapes the world — takes place with a cup of cha in hand, and it is in this climate of exchange and debate that his thinking was forged.
Nothing I have written was truly thought in silence: everything was born in conversation, and conversation, in our land, is drunk. With a cup of cha in hand, we discuss for hours — that is what we call adda, and it is there, more than in any library, that ideas are born. In Santiniketan as in Cambridge, I liked it very hot, barely sweetened, lifted by a shard of ginger. Pour it from a height, so it froths a little, and sit down: a good debate always begins that way.
Ingredients (period version)
- Black tea from Assam or Darjeeling — une bonne pincée (base)
- Milk — selon le goût (roundness)
- Sugar — un peu (sweetness)
- Ginger or cardamom — un éclat (flavor)
Ingredients
- Black tea from Assam or Darjeeling — 2 c. à café
- Water — 250 ml
- Milk — 150 ml
- Sugar — 1 à 2 c. à café
- Fresh crushed ginger — 1 petit morceau
- Cardamom — 1 gousse écrasée (facultatif)
Method
- Bring the water to a boil with the crushed ginger and cardamom.
- Add the tea and let it steep at a simmer for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the milk and sugar, and gently bring back to a boil.
- Let it rise once or twice while watching, then strain.
- Pour from a height into the cup to create froth. Serve piping hot.
How it was made : The consumption of milk tea became widespread in India in the 20th century, encouraged by the tea plantations of Assam and neighboring Bengal; tea boiled with milk and sugar became the drink of the street, offices, and discussion circles.
The contemporary twist : Serve it in a small traditional terracotta cup (kulhar), whose clay subtly flavors the tea — the most sustainable disposable object there is.
Sources : K.T. Achaya, Indian Food: A Historical Companion · Amartya Sen, The Argumentative Indian (2005)
Amartya Sen · Charactorium
