Many people in the world are currently seeking the who, what & why of chai. Oregon Chai wants you to expand your horizons, free your mind, enrich your life by helping you become an expert in the field of chai. Just take a few minutes to read this guide and then take a short (easy!) quiz.
Part I. Oregon: "The Puddle State"
(pronounced Or-eh-gun)
Oregon is a beautiful, mossy state on the West Coast of the United States. It is filled with happy, yet soggy people who have spent an inordinately large portion of their lives in warm cafes drinking hot beverages. Consequently, they know a fabulous, life-alteringly delicious drink when they taste it.
Part II. Chai: Need-to-Know Info
Chai, which literally means tea in many cultures, is an ambrosial blend of black tea, honey, vanilla and spices prepared with milk like a latte.
Part III. Oregon Chai: East Meets West, Sweet Meets Spicy
The ancient recipe meets the American palate in a sweet, spicy, soothing chai tea latte that's available in concentrate or instant mixes. Oregon Chai fans love it hot or iced, morning or evening, summer or winter, while relaxing or on the go, sitting by the fire or performing neurosurgery. If they could drink it in their sleep, they would.
Part IV. Tea Time is Me Time
Drinking chai is an indulgent experience. Daydreaming, meditating, self-reflecting and mind-wandering are all highly enhanced by a cup of the heavenly stuff we call chai.
Now, the quiz!
1. What is chai?
A. Slang meaning "tasty," i.e., "This bologna sauce sure is chai."
B. A new language, i.e., "Do you speak chai?"
C. A blend of black tea, honey and milk, i.e., I love this chai! I'm never drinking anything else. Ever.
2. Which of the following are ways and times you can enjoy Oregon Chai?
A. Steamingly hot
B. Refreshingly cool over ice
C. During the winter solstice
D. While performing neurosurgery
3. In which form CAN'T you buy chai?
A. Concentrate
B. Dry Mix
C. New Cheddar Chai - just heat and pour over your favorite tortilla chips!
Answers: 1) C, 2) A, B and C. Yes, you might want to enjoy your Oregon Chai while performing surgery, but we think you should focus on your work. 3) C, silly.
How'd you do?
The holidays have the tendency to make a lot of external demands on your time. Does it feel like you spend a lot of time rushing around in order to do things -- for other people?
If your last great escape was to the garage to just be alone where no one could find you, you're definitely showing signs of 'me time' deficiency. Next time you find yourself sneaking off to the grocery store just to shop in peace, try these 'me time' tips instead:
Buy yourself flowers. No, really. The cheaper and more colorful the better. The sight and smell will calm you and make you smile each time you see them.
Make a date. With yourself! If you take your work appointments seriously, why not start blocking out a date to do some things you love? Maybe it's hot yoga; maybe it's curling up with a book and a mug of steaming Oregon Chai.
Enjoy The Dishes. Slow down and take pleasure in your chores. Things like dishes, laundry and cooking can be Moments Of Peace.
Bring The Nap Back. Change into some comfy pajamas and lie down on a bed or couch. Even if you can't fall asleep, 20 minutes of resting and letting your mind wander can be wonderful. You may even think of the solution to whatever problem has been plaguing you all morning. Drink a cup of Oregon Chai to perk you up when you're done and it's time to get back to work Saving The World.
How do you spend your 'me time'? Running? Listening to music? Watching Mad Men?
Tweet, tweet! We had an informal giveaway on Twitter today. It was good fun, and we got to see what some of our Twitter friends really look like. The entries were pretty brilliant. We even had a two-way tie for fifth place, with two entries coming in within 20 seconds of each other. Oh well, we had to give them both chai.
You've already reset your watch, the clocks in the kitchen, alarm in the bedroom, kids' bedroom, etc. So why do you still feel out of sync?
Daylight Saving Time is often disorienting, much like travel across time zones. (Could it be that DST is actually code for distress? Hmm.) If you're feeling down because it's 3:30 and the sun's already setting, you can always get one of those nifty clocks designed specially for distressed DST victims.
Or just be thankful you don't live in China, a country as wide as the United States but with only one official time zone. It's pitch black at 10 AM in the western Chinese provinces -- imagine going to work in those conditions!
Besides a cup of Original Oregon Chai, of course, what's your favorite way to beat the DST blues?
They say Oregon Chai is Nirvana, available by the cup. How about some Zen, available by tweet?
@dailyzen is a user on Twitter who posts daily Snippets Of Wisdom, such as: "Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes."
Or: "After enlightenment, the laundry."
And our favorite:
"The purpose of life is to love whoever is around to be loved."
Something to contemplate over your morning cup of Nirvana.
Did you hear about the dentist who is buying Halloween candy back from kids? The plan is to send the candy to troops overseas. “I believe it promotes oral hygiene among the kids and at the same time teaches them about patriotism,” he says.
If you ever feel just a wee bit guilty for encouraging those cute kids in pumpkin costumes to eat unhealthy things, here are some possible alternatives (short of the dreaded apple) to the usual Snickers and Gummi Bears:
1. Stickers or temporary tattoos. You can stick them all over your arms and your stuff! What's not to love? These are also highly coveted items during post-Halloween trading.
2. Hershey's Sugar Free. Candy and chocolate that looks just like the real thing -- Kisses, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Jolly Ranchers.
3. Oregon Chai Tea Latte Mixes. Colorful, portable and sure to please the kids after a tough night of traipsing around in the dark, Oregon Chai dry mixes make a great Halloween treat. There is even a sugar-free variety. Explain that hot chai is like hot chocolate, and let the kids help you mix it up. You can even top it with sugar-free whipped cream.
Happy Halloween to all! Send us your pictures of kids in pumpkin costumes to cafe@oregonchai.com. We'd love to share them!
Good food depends almost entirely on good ingredients.
—Alice Waters, Chef and Owner of Chez Panisse
Congratulations to the first three weekly winners of our joint Oregon Chai-Satellite Sisters recipe contest!
We asked you to fill us in on how you chai, and did you ever. We received dozens of recipes and choosing the winner was not easy. But hey -- it’s a delicious job and someone has to do it.
With the help of Julie, Liz, Sheila, Monica, and Lian Dolan, we tested recipes and decided on these three for the first round of winners:
Dark chocolate + chai = winning recipe! Chef Natasha in Houston is a winner for her yummy Chai-Chocolate Biscotti.
We absolutely loved the Overnight Coffee Cake from Zanna in Leominster, MA, made with a buttery batter so refined it has to chill for at least eight hours before baking. Mmm...
For Debbie in Bethseda, Maryland, Nirvana includes a mug of morning chai and Debbie’s Scramble—a breakfast mash-up with Canadian bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns. Looks like her Westie, Einstein Squared, wishes he could have some ;-)
Natasha, Debbie and Zanna will receive freebie Oregon Chai products. Keep sending those recipes! The Grand Prize Winner will receive an Oregon Chai/Satellite Sisters gift basket. Check out all the winning recipes here.
Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends upon the tides of the mind.
—Alice Meynell
Welcome to the café! Your ChaiMama can seat you now .. If you're like me, you're short on time and privacy and long on lists of things that need to get done. Most women these days are on overload - whether she's stay-at-home, work-at-home or work-at-work. So it's only natural that we gravitate toward each other for a little camaraderie when we bump into each other at school events, a downtown café or at our favorite blog spots. What we talk about when we connect is what OregonChaiCafe is all about.
So to make this click, tell me what's on your mind and I'll tell you what's on mine! Right now, what's on my mind is finding a little respite from the hectic pace of my week. Occasionally even a ChaiMama needs a little time for me so here I am, neatly tucked into my favorite window seat, blogging about things I love: Oregon Chai tea, music, my family and power walks. Before I blogged from home I was an editor for a tea-related magazine as well as a handful of other consumer magazines and books, and though I love my life, I occasionally long for parts of the old one. One day one of those longings took me down to one of my old coffee-shop haunts and what started out as a search for Nirvana ended up as a relaxing afternoon with a delicious cup of Oregon Chai. Love at first sip! One empty mug later, in a heightened state of Nirvana, I knew was hooked!
Besides chai, I get a kick out of:
- Throwing a dinner party that has them talking a month later about my pad thai
- Wilco (LOVE the latest album)
- Pitching in and making a difference
- “Authentic” anything—Moroccan food, found art, vintage postcards, quality time with my family.
Enough about me for now. I hope you'll check back in each day to enjoy of cup of Oregon Chai with me and share your thoughts about chai, your own Nirvana, and what makes you tick. In return, I’ll share positive news, recipes, cooking and entertaining tips; home ideas, worthwhile causes and people—and an inspirational quote every day. Enjoy!
Cheers,
OregonChaiMama