The Apartment Farm stirs memories of chai

by Marisa McClellan, Posted Aug 28th 2007 @ 7:42AM

I first tasted chai at a mobile teahouse the summer between my junior and senior years of high school. A group of community-minded folks outfitted an old truck with extendable wings, a big stash of pillows and a small kitchen. Each week they would travel around to a different park around Portland and set up for an evening in the grass (I believe they did this with permission but I don't know for sure).

They would extend the wings to provide shade, scatter the pillows around and serve drinks and snacks. The food was all donation based, people made it at home and brought it to share (this did mean that the menu was always changing). You weren't charged when you received it, you were just asked to make a donation that then went to a local charity. Musicians would set up around the truck and take turns playing all evening long.

Someone had made a large batch of home brewed chai concentrate the first night I went to the teahouse that the folks behind the counter were serving up with either regular or soy milk. This was before chai was ubiquitous and so it was a totally new taste combination for me. I still vividly remember the experience of having the sweet and spicy flavors meet my tongue. Really good chai still reminds me of that moment, on a lovely summer evening, hanging out with my friend Jessica, drinking chai that a stranger generously made and donated, while a drumming circle formed nearby.

Sadly, the mobile teahouse didn't survive past that summer, but my enjoyment of chai still persists. The blogger over at the Apartment Farm brought all these memories sweeping back for me today with her post about DIY Chai. She makes her with soymilk, but I imagine you could use conventional milk (or goat/almond/rice) if you prefer. It's got me seriously thinking about whipping up a batch for myself tonight.

Photo link

Filed Under: On the Blogs, Ingredients, Drink Recipes
Tags: chai, dairy, DIY Chai, mobile teahouse, spices, sugar, tea, The Apartment Farm, TheApartmentFarm

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

8-28-2007 @5:18PM jsmylie said... Lovely story about a different time. I have a hard time imagining something like this going on today (though I'm sure someone will comment and prove me wrong)!
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8-28-2007 @12:46PM fistpittingnork said... Nothing new and surprising, but I prefer hemp milk with my chai.
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8-28-2007 @3:46PM MikeSims said... When I lived in Maryland, my wife and I visited Teaism for the chai. Their chai was so much spicier and full of aroma and flavor. Even after we finished it, we would smell it all the way back to the Metro.

I long for a good chai again, since I've never really liked what Starbucks or most shops serve.
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8-28-2007 @10:52PM dan turner said... It's Portland - it wouldn't have had to be a long time ago. It's a very community oriented city, with lots of anarchists/hippies/crazies pulling together all sorts of art and food happenings.
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