The Color of Chai

The color of chai is brown. Me too. One week ago a man stretched his hand out to mine and said “I am almost the same color as you.” And I said, “I am straight-up brown.” Then a few days later, here at the Pfister, a man from across the bar said “You must have been somewhere warm?” And I found myself, as I so often do, wondering “Does he know I am brown? We are virtual strangers so how does he know I was in the sun last week and am many shades darker than usual?”

It took me a long time to love my skin color. Longer than it should have. I am the perfect in between. My mom is a beautiful fair-skinned Indian woman and my father, a handsome dark-skinned Indian man. 

I am the color of my ancestors, my history and so many of my favorite things. Chocolate. I love chocolate. All shades. Coffee too. And chai. All shades of chai.

So when you join me for homemade chai at the Pfister Tuesday mornings 10am -noon, please ask.

Where is your family from? Where were you born? Where did you grow up? Where have you lived? When did you move to Milwaukee and how long have you lived here? Is that your natural skin color? Or are you tan? What kind of chocolate do you crave? How do you like your coffee? And, of course, how do you make your chai?