I must have sat and sipped at dozens of tea stalls all over India, and at hundreds of such establishments around the world. Minty greens of Morocco, Turkish blacks in hourglass cups, streetside tintos of Colombia, and iced coffees over a layer of condensed milk in Vietnam are some of the caffeinated concoctions that bubble to the surface of my memory.

Regardless, Indian chai stalls are of their own cosmos. The tobacco clouds, scents of paan, and TVs blaring cricket matches or Modi speeches sum to an atmosphere that is impossible to recreate outside of India.

Of all the tea stalls in India, the best atmosphere goes to Rattan Tea Stall in the center of Manikaran, Himachal Pradesh. Here the benches are packed with unshowered, idle men puffing beedis and staring blankly at the flat-screen TV.

That’s how you know the chai is worth drinking. By the crowd.

It’s not the best atmosphere that creates the best chai on earth. It’s that the best chai brings in the atmosphere.

 

The World’s Yummiest Masala Chai

Rattan can be found standing tirelessly over his mortar and pestle, pounding the daylights out of some ginger and cardamom.

A giant vat of village milk balances on the gas cylinder to his left. As spicy tea boils on a bonfire of a flame, he scoops the fatty milk with a heavy-duty ladel and throws it in the pot.

The result is a 10-rupee (13-cent) zingy, sweet, aromatic, dark, creamy ambrosia.

It’s too hot to be sipped but I sip it anyway because I can’t wait. The surface rapidly thickens into its own skin of chai.

Rattan and his family have immigrated from Nepal and settled nicely into the holy village-town of Manikaran. He’s one of the sweetest men I’ve met in my life. He doesn’t say much beyond “chai?” and “acha.” His light, love, and good spirit escape from his eyes, his smiles, and his courteous service.

Yep, the best Indian masala chai is made by a Nepali.

I swear.

Rattan’s stall is directly across from Meena the Parantha Queen which I have posted about for doling out some of the best paranthas on earth.

Shelved with all the daily needs one could wish for, the stall is your fix for salty snacks and dunkable biscuits. Chai cups and detergents. One-rupee candies that keep children popping in all day.

Relevant read: Falling In Love With India’s Finest Aloo Parantha during my Dharamshala days.

My current toothbrush was purchased from this place.

Gopendar is Rattan’s laid-back assistant. Both men make incredibly fluffy omelettes by a ruthless beating of the eggs, tomato, and onion before tossing the foaming batter on piping hot oil. If you ask for the omelette with a bun, the simple result is better than many burgers of my gastronomic history.

They also offer aloo paranthas which I have yet to try.

Over my month in mythical Manikaran I tried to make it out to Rattan Tea Stall every day. This ritual was not only for a chance to sip my favorite chai in the world, but also for the sake of seeing my favorite person in Manikaran.

The best was when Rattan and I were alone, sitting in silence, enjoying each other’s existence, me with a grin on my face.

Once I traded him a whole-wheat almond biscotti from Rishikesh for a slice of local apple.

After five years of solo travel, it’s the most uneventful events that keep me curious.