Paxety Pages

I went to the soulless yuppie Publix this morning, and decided, for the first time in a year or so, to buy some green tea. I anticipated having to search for a good brand among the shelves filled with Lipton, Luzianne, an occasional Earl Grey, and those staples of the old hippie health food stores, the teas from Celestial Seasonings. Yes, I know that Mood Mender and Chamomile are infusions, not really teas, but most folks don't care.

I stepped into the tea aisle, dodged a woman trying to herd three children, and ran my eyes over the shelves. Plenty of Lipton and Luzianne decaffeinated teas in big boxes, but on the upper shelves with the smaller boxes where I would expect to find green tea as Chai, Chai, Chai, and Chai Latta. What the hell?

Chai, of course is an ancient Indian (some say Tibetan) drink made from black tea, milk and spices. Each family seems to have its own favorite recipe. The original recipes, like most old recipes, require time to prepare properly. One recipe requires chopping fresh spices and combining them immediately with milk, water and tea, cooking out the water, straining and serving immediately. Much too time consuming for the American consumer.

Celestial Seasonings jumps in with a solution. Packaged black tea drinks in cute metal tins. It advertises only its India Spice Chai Tea (and the decaf version) as Chai, but it offers at least a half-dozen other variously spiced, black tea and milk drinks. Their promotions haven't changed much from the old days

In many cultures, chai simply means tea. And a pot of chai fills homes with a delicious aroma that says welcome like nothing else. Our Original India Spice Chai is blended from premium teas combined with natural spices and exotic flavors. Now you can brew this irresistible elixir yourself. Steep a tea bag, sweeten with sugar or honey, then add milk or your favorite substitute. Enjoy the health benefits of antioxidant-rich tea and spices, and savor the intriguing taste that stands apart from the crowd.

With Celestial Seasonings, the health conscious savorer still must add milk and honey. Still a lot of work for an American.

In steps Lipton with Chai Latta, described on the package and the web site as:

An important part of life is rewarding yourself every once in a while. Lipton ChaiLatta combines tea with exotic spices to create a delicious creamy latte-like hot drink. Whatever the occasion, ChaiLatta is a sweet smooth treat that tastes even better when shared.

You can reward yourself with Chai Latta  in Original, Vanilla, Chocolate and Hazlenut flavors. Far, far from the ginger of the original Indian recipe. Chai Latta is packaged in cute little plastic sacks. To prepare, pour boiling water over a few tablespoons of the mixture inside the sack. No spices to add, no tea to add, no straining required, and no risk of burning the boiling milk. Pure American simplicity.