Every Friday, Bahram announces on his Instagram which cafeteria in Barcelona will be hosting his famous Chai Masala
It does not have its own store and does not invest in advertising, but every weekend long queues form in front of its pop-up to try out what could be the best chai in town . How has he managed Bahram Ehsas, a 28-year-old Afghan, better known as Chai Guy , become the gastronomic sensation of Barcelona ? His story, like his tea, is loaded with ingredients.
Son of a journalist father and a dentist mother, Bahram Ehsas was born in Kabul in 1992, in the midst of the civil war in Afghanistan. “My father was a popular journalist, with a large listener base, and he used his voice to speak out against the Taliban, which made the wrong people angry, people with too much power, so the day after I was born, and for security issues, we moved from the capital to a smaller town on the outskirts,” says Ehsas. This was the beginning of a long journey that 28 years later has brought him to Barcelona , but along the way, Bahram and his family also ended up in countries like France to end up establishing itself definitively in London . “After spending 18 years of my life in England, studying there, making friends and working there, I decided to move once again, but this time on my own, to Spain, to Barcelona”, and continues, “so here I am, selling the Chai that I grew up loving, in a land 8000km from my birthplace.”
Bahram Ehsas is 'The Chai Guy'
MUCH MORE THAN A DRINK
The Masala Chai is a delicious mix of cloves, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and black pepper . All the spices add a delicious touch to the Chai, as well as subtle nuances that make it unique. The queen of comfort food drinks must follow a specific proportion so that the spice mix is balanced , and although reaching perfection is not a trivial matter, this tea admits some variants depending on the geography where it is made or even the state of mind of the person who prepares it. To know its history, you have to go back a few 5,000 years ago , when it was created as ayurvedic and invigorating drink in some, still unknown today, Asian point disputed between countries like Thailand and India.
We had to wait until the 19th century to discover Masala Chai recipe (What does it mean spiced tea ) more similar to the one we take now, when the British established their plantations in Assamese, India , and his black tea production began to gain prominence in the local chai recipes made with spices, milk, sweetener and tea . However, this mixture did not immediately penetrate the population, since the tea was mainly for export and therefore too expensive for most.
It was not until well into the second half of the 20th century that Masala Chai became popular in India, when the mechanization of tea production made black tea more affordable for the masses until it became a staple food in many parts of the world. country where Street vendors serve Masala Chai to the public on the street , a fundamental drink for the population that is also used to welcome guests to the house. “Every time I made Chai for my friends here in Barcelona, “their reactions were priceless,” says Bahram Ehsas, “ Chai is a very special drink for me, it connects me with my family in Afghanistan”.
The Chai Guy comes to Barcelona on weekends to serve the best Chai Malasa in town
The Ehsas project, its pop up chai-guy , is the result of his deep love for Chai and his desire to share the influence of this tea that is much more than a drink. “I finally decided to work on perfecting my own Chai recipe with the aim of bringing the authentic Masala Chai to Barcelona . When I'm in the kitchen, I'm not just making Chai, I'm creating something that embodies my culture and ancestry. It makes me very happy to be able to create a community of Chai lovers who share my passion.” On one occasion, he says, "a person sent me a message saying:" It's crazy how something so small can have such a big impact on my day to day. "And that's exactly what my goal with Chai Guy has been from the beginning, for this drink to be so much more than Chai."
ON EVERYONE'S LIPS
His arrival in Barcelona was, as he himself defines, a crush, “the city immediately stole my heart. I've never been so in love that I was willing to leave behind 18 years of memories, friends and family, to start over somewhere new." A year after visiting the city for the first time and climbing to the top of Carmel Bunkers Bahram Ehsas found himself on a one-way flight to Barcelona, "with a suitcase and a job offer, ready to start a new life."
Almost 4 years after his arrival, Ehsas works full time during the week to earn money to finance the costs of starting this adventure that at the moment can only be enjoyed on weekends . “I don't have a fixed place to sell my Chai, so I I trust the incredible cafes of Barcelona to open their doors for me and allow me to settle in ”. And this is how it works, and very well, Chai Guy, and how he intends to continue working for the time being. His most loyal clientele knows that every Friday Ehsas publishes through his Instagram page the location where he will serve what is already considered the best Chai tea in the city . Or at least that is what those who pilgrimage every weekend to the new location where the boy from Chai sells his comforting drink think.
The Masala Chai made by Bahram Ehsas is vegan, uses oat milk and not cow's milk as is usually more common and, despite the fact that he plans to expand his range with other types of teas, the one he serves now has a base of black tea, which is the original. In addition to the measure when mixing the handful of ingredients of a Masala Chai, here the secret is in its preparation, that Ehsas makes according to the traditional recipe of Masala Chai from Assam, the tea capital of India , and of course, in an extra ingredient that makes it sublime: the passion that this Afghan boy pours into each glass of Chai Masala that he serves through the streets of Barcelona.