The Concept Of Tea Without Milk And Sugar: Targeting The Health-Conscious Consumers

India runs chai! We all love our cups of chai in the mornings and in the afternoons, and countless cups in between. And our chai needs to be strong and sweet, milky and ‘malai mar ke’!

Ketan Desai, Chief & Sustainability Officer, VAHDAM India believes in India, at home or in offices, guests are always offered chai or coffee, and invariably, the choice tends to be chai. “And invariably, the chai that is served is needs to be sweet – that is the default setting for all of us!” he smiles.

“When I am offered such chai, I always refuse it (not very politely) with a stoic retort: ‘I don’t drink liquid halwa’! This always ensures I get not-so-kind look, but sometimes, you need to be cruel to be kind. Invariably again, I am asked the same question – why do I call chai, liquid halwa?” quips Desai.

Nearly 95% of all tea drunk in India is the milky, sweet chai – liquid halwa. “But why am I so averse to this? The answer and the villain are sugar – a cup of chai usually has two teaspoons of sugar amounting to about 32 calories!” shares Desai.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the recommended consumption of sugar per day in men is 9 teaspoons and for women is 6 teaspoons. And now comes the most alarming part – beverages account for 47% of our daily sugar intake, followed by snacks at 31%. On any normal day, we drink 4-5 cups of chai besides three main meals and at least two snacks in-between! Chai alone would account for the recommended daily sugar consumption, and the total sugar we intake in other our meals and snacks (and other beverages like an occasional can of fizzy drink or juice or a pint after work) – would exceed the recommended sugar intake several times. Is it therefore, any wonder, that India is now labelled as the diabetes capital of the world!

“The answer to healthy lifestyle is to reduce sugar. Instead of drinking cups after cups of liquid halwa, why not move to Green tea or Black tea like Darjeeling tea with lemon? Not only is it healthier with virtually zero calories and zero sugar, it is also elegantly delicious!” signs off Desai.