Discover delicious Indian “Masala Tea” - a great way to warm up on cold days. It is a treat that seduces the taste buds and leaves you with a warm, cozy feeling.
Definitions
“Masala”: # mixture
“Tea Masala”: # mixture made specially for adding to tea.
“Masala Tea”: Tea made with tea masala.
Benefits of Masala Tea
Apart from warming you up, Masala Tea offers many more benefits. It stimulates your brain and perks you up. You find new focus and energy. This in turn reduces drowsiness and adds to your concentration. If you have a cough or cold, it soothes your throat. All this for only half the caffeine of coffee!
Recent studies indicate that it is a miracle beverage for many more reasons:
It lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke and certain kinds of cancer.
It stimulates the immune system.
It helps to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol.
It lowers the risk of clotting of the arteries.
It helps to prevent tooth decay and plaque.
It helps with food digestion.
It eases stress and headaches.
Masala Tea is quite easy to make at home. Apart from the tea itself, the main ingredient – tea masala – is readily available in most Indian grocery stores.
“GOVIK’S Tea Masala” is made locally in Mississauga, Ontario from a secret recipe. You can buy it in Indian grocery stores in the Greater Toronto Area. It is also sold by mail order. If your favourite Indian grocery store does not carry it, you may call (905) 826-1422 or email to
govik@rogers.com.
It is packaged in reusable glass bottles and comes with complete instructions on how to make Masala Tea. It even comes with a tiny measuring spoon! Some stores also stock it in smaller ‘Handy Dandy Paks’ (which too have instructions and a measuring spoon). These are great for sampling, mailing or stocking stuffers.
The Fascinating GOVIK’S Story
There is quite a story behind GOVIK’S Tea Masala – with an interesting twist later on.
Whenever Gopa made tea masala for herself, she always had to make some extra for her family and friends, who clamoured for it. In response to this great demand was born GOVIK’S Tea Masala, in the 1990s. The name GOVIK is derived from the first names of the founders, Gopa and Vikram Vibhakar.
Due to the emphasis on quality and the use of only the best and purest ingredients, it is the highest priced tea masala on the market. Yet it costs only a fraction of a cent per cup! Due to its concentration, purity and quality of ingredients, a lot less is needed than for the imported brands – and it tastes better too!
It was a struggle at first to persuade store owners to stock their product due to its apparent higher cost compared to Indian imports. Gradually however, the product made it to the store shelves. The business grew by word of mouth alone, and there was a rising stream of repeat orders.
Then - disaster! # doubled in cost in 1999. As GOVIK’S Tea Masala was already the most expensive in the market, the company was in a quandary. Should they increase their price still further and maintain their quality, or decrease costs by using inferior ingredients? They decided on a third alternative and shut down operations completely. The owners felt that nobody would be willing to pay more, and they did not want to compromise on the quality of their product either.
Suddenly a strange thing happened! The shopkeepers, who had initially complained about the high cost, started to phone and demand that GOVIK’S Tea Masala again go back into production. They were now willing to pay any price to get the product on their shelves again! Apparently, their customers had told them that they could not find anything comparable on the market and they did not mind paying a higher price.
In spite of these entreaties, Gopa and Vikram decided not to return to the tea masala business. However, over the years they kept on hearing from strangers all over Canada and the USA asking where they could buy GOVIK’S Tea Masala. The common refrain from the callers was that after tasting it, they were not satisfied with any other brand available. While it had originally been sold only through stores in the Greater Toronto Area, it had obviously earned fans elsewhere too, from those who had moved away, had been sent it as a gift or had tasted it when visiting friends or family in the GTA.
Finally, due to overwhelming public demand, GOVIK’S Tea Masala went back into production in 2006 after a seven year hiatus. What triggered the change of heart was a call from a fan who said her dying father was pining for GOVIK’S Tea Masala, as he did not like any other tea masala. She wanted to give him this last pleasure. Of course, the first thing that GOVIK did after resuming production was to send her some tea masala.
For free instructions and tips on how to make a great Masala Tea, please email to
govik@rogers.com.
For questions or trade enquiries, please call (905) 826-1422 or email to
govik@rogers.com.
