Cultivating Chai

22:

To make a cup of masala chai was a matter of following the recipe without fumbling. To make a good cup of masala chai was an entirely different matter. You could follow the exact same steps, ape a chef off an internet video movement by movement only to make the blandest tea possible and then stand there flummoxed, wondering how people could enjoy such a banal experience.

However, there was no great mystery to the art of brewing masala chai, for like most disciplines, it only asked for preparation and practice.

Of course, the ingredients made a difference. Good ingredients made good tea, no doubt about it.

The problem was, Xiao Feng wasn’t sure if what he had qualified as good ingredients. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if they qualified as ingredients at all.

The first step to making chai, was to take a saucepan and fill it with two cups of water. Their tall sides and typically deep bottoms made their design ideal for prolonged boiling and simmering. Acquiring fresh spring water hadn’t been a challenge for Xiao Feng, considering that enough dispensers were scattered across the Alchemy Division.

While spring water did not assist in cultivation and a cultivator could live without water for as long as they had their Qi reserves to sustain them, drinking water was still a very effective way of expelling impurities that built up in the body, from sources like pills and spiritual beast meat.

The second step was where Xiao Feng was confronted with a bit of a problem. A fact that had come as a shock to his coffee-addicted dorm mate as he brewed him up a cup of masala chai was that there was more to the art than a single ingredient and some frothed milk. No offense intended, of course.

You see, Masala Chai or just Chai in general, was all about infusion. The part about that was the frankly limitless possibilities it created. There was a whole tier list for Xiao Feng’s go-to ingredients when it came to Masala Chai.

The first and most essential ingredient was a small chunk of ginger, grated into fine, small pieces to make sure that the flavor was infused properly. The spicy kick it possessed was essential to the very ethos of the Masala Chai, making them an inseparable duo.

Green cardamom or Elaichi was another one of his go-tos, though it needed to be ground in a mortar and pestle to release its true flavor profile, a sweet, floral spice that had citrusy notes to it.

Cloves or Laung were always a good addition, the warm spice carrying an intense flavor profile, a unique combination of sweet, bitter and spicy.

A single cinnamon stick once given the mortar and pestle treatment added a familiar, comforting aroma to the chai as its flavor profiles melded well with the others, its woody flavor adding a divine earthiness.

On the days Xiao Feng wished for an extra kick, he added a few black peppercorns for their spiciness.

The problem he faced on the continent of Tian, realm of Sephari, was the fact that Xiao Feng had access to absolutely none of those.

The water was poured in the pill furnace’s cauldron, almost double the amount required for a single cup of chai, because Xiao Feng was expecting a large amount of it to boil away as he figured out the right balance of flavor profiles and aromas.

Arrayed before him were seven small glass jars, each one properly labeled.

“I guess I’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way,” Xiao Feng muttered under his breath, as he twisted open the first jar.

“Firedust, eh?” He considered, as the jar opened up to reveal a granular spice compacted into diamond-shaped constructs. He found himself wondering if its shape was natural, or if it had been manually pressed that form for specific reasons. It’s faded gray appearance certainly did not evoke the image of fire, but who really knew how it worked in the world of cultivation.

His predecessor certainly didn’t, considering that he would eat raw meat if it meant that he could get back to cultivating faster. Well, if the Martial Division didn’t mandate it’s cultivators to eat Qi-rich food prepared for them in the mess hall, anyway. The point being, his predecessor had never had any interest in the culinary arts.

Xiao Feng braced himself, before popping the firedust diamond into his mouth and biting into it.

The burn came immediately and its approach was torrential. Xiao Feng had felt like this only once before, when he had sampled wasabi for the time in a cheap sushi to-go restaurant without knowing exactly what it was. It was most certainly not real wasabi, just dyed horseradish, but that didn’t really do much to alleviate the unnatural feeling burn in his sinuses.

It had been unlike any spice he had sampled before and the same was true for firedust.

Tears trickled down his chin as he tried to fake cough away the burn. Sweat beaded on forehead and Xiao Feng reached for the remaining spring water and downed it without hesitation.

It did nothing for him.

Just as Xiao Feng was about to sprint out of the alchemy vault he had paid for in search of more water, the burn began to fade and then, without warning, vanished entirely.

“Huh,” He said, as he stared down at his own empty palms with confusion. He felt rejuvenated instead of feeling drained, as if he had just gotten done with a long, relaxing bath. He poked his own cheek, and realized that it felt soft and supple. It was as if he had just woken from a long night’s rest, his body itching for action.

“This is fantastic,” Xiao Feng said, as a wide grin stretched across his features. “Man, I can make some diabolical Masala Chai with this,” He said, before he chuckled at his own words.

Then, the smile faded, as Xiao Feng looked downwards, only to be confronted by the six glass jars that remained.

The first spice had made him cry. What would the other six do?