Do Indians drink 10 cups of milk tea a day? The richness of the milk reveals how popular it is

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

The must-drink beverage when traveling in India is milk tea. Strolling through the streets and alleys, you can often smell the strong aroma of tea. Just how much do Indians love milk tea? Locals say, “Drinking 10 cups a day is no exaggeration.” If a foreigner visits an Indian village, every household will definitely offer a freshly brewed cup of milk tea. There’s also a saying that visitors can gauge the closeness of the host-guest relationship by the concentration of the milk—the richer it is, the more welcome the guest is.

▲ An Indian chef performs the art of pouring milk tea. (Photo / CFP Visual China)

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When it comes to milk tea, it is definitely an important part of Indians’ lives. Most Indians drink milk tea every day—upon waking up, during meals, and before bed. Office workers even have morning and afternoon tea breaks at work, so it’s common to drink 7 or 8 cups a day, and 10 cups isn’t unheard of.

The reason Indian milk tea has such a strong tea aroma actually lies in a secret: locals add “ginger” when brewing the tea. Aside from enhancing the flavor, in northern India where winter temperatures can approach zero degrees Celsius, ginger-infused milk tea also helps ward off the cold. Additionally, Indians like to add plenty of sugar to their milk tea for flavoring. Some joke that without this “bold taste,” it wouldn’t be authentic Indian milk tea.

As for the “pulled tea,” which is quite popular among people around the world, many believe it originated from Indians who migrated to Malaysia. However, if you visit India in person, you’ll rarely see locals “pulling” their tea back and forth. (News source: Central News Agency)