chai chai

Tea Tea

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Did you know that the word “chai” means “tea,” so when you say “chai tea” you’re just saying “tea tea”? Maybe you went to the movies recently to see the new animated film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which features a big scene where Pavitr Prabhakar (Karan Soni), the multiverse’s Indian Spider-Man, reprimands Miles Morales when he commits this faux pas. Or maybe you watched Hasan Minhaj’s 2022 Netflix special The King’s Jester, in which the comedian — who, by the way, consulted on the writing of this Spider-Verse scene — simulated a dramatic mental breakdown over the prevalence of this mix-up? Or maybe you watched this 2018 viral video where Minhaj bonds with Pakistani British Queer Eye star Tan France over this widespread mistake? Or maybe you watched Hari Kondabolu’s 2023 YouTube special Vacation Baby, where he mocks people who incorrectly say “chai tea” and the word “turmeric”? Or maybe you watched comedian Zarna Garg’s 2023 Amazon special One in a Billion, where she tells Americans not to offer her “chai tea” because they “don’t know what it is”? Or maybe you watched the first episode of Lilly Singh’s since-canceled A Little Late With Lilly Singh, which began with a rap about how her writers’ room was so diverse it would never commit this gaffe? Or maybe you saw this 2018 tweet sent by recently departed Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, where she compares saying “chai tea” to the “cartoon guy in the pizza ad”? Or maybe you saw this 2017 video where comedian Eric Schwartz tries to find the best chai in Los Angeles for comedian Vir Das, and Das corrects Schwartz when he fails to stick the landing on the name? Or maybe you saw this 2022 Wong Fu Productions video where Never Have I Ever actress Megan Suri compliments the host for not making this mistake but then educates the at-home audience anyway? Or maybe you read Kal Penn’s 2021 Reddit AMA to promote his book You Can’t Be Serious, where he brought up the “chai tea” blunder as an example of how Hollywood doesn’t know how to write South Asian characters? Or maybe you watched this popular 2017 BuzzFeed video where host Ahmed Ali Akbar goes on a hunt for the best $1 cup of chai in New York City and engages in dialogue about this ubiquitous mistake? Or maybe you saw this viral TikTok about how the first order of business for Starbucks’s first Indian CEO is to remove “chai tea” from its menu? Or maybe you saw this viral TikTok captioned “Just don’t call it a chai tea latte”? Or maybe you read this article published by the Cut where writer Mithila Phadke discusses nearly breaking up with her American boyfriend over a “chai tea”–based disagreement? Or maybe you read this chai recipe written by food-world star Priya Krishna, known for her work at the New York Times and Bon Appétit? Or maybe you read this Eater article published with the headline “Why You Should Never Use the Phrase ‘Chai Tea’”? Or maybe you saw one of two tweets about the term “chai tea” sent by the goofy Twitter account @UberFacts? Or maybe you visited the buzzy café Kolkata Chai Co. in New York City, which is branded with big letters on the wall that say “Chai Tea”? Or maybe you saw someone walking around wearing a T-shirt that says, “If you say chai tea, I’ll give you a thappad slap?” Or maybe …

Tea Tea