Main Idea:

The main idea of the excerpt is to explore how coffee transitioned from being an elite European
drink to becoming a significant cultural marker for the emerging Tamil middle class in late
colonial Tamil society. This process involved overcoming cultural anxieties and criticism,
establishing specific practices around its preparation and consumption, using it as a symbol of
hospitality and a metaphor in public discourse, and constructing 'tea' as its cultural 'other'
associated with the working class. The essay aims to historicize the cultural practice of coffee-
drinking, often seen as quintessentially 'South Indian'.
Detailed Notes:
•
Sociological Significance of Coffee:
◦
Sociological imagination allows us to "think ourselves away" from familiar routines to look at
them anew. The simple act of drinking coffee can reveal an enormous amount from a
sociological point of view.
◦
Coffee is described as being more than just a simple daily habit; it was a sign of the modern,
much like history, the nation-state, or the novel.
•
Historical Context of Coffee in India:
◦
Standard accounts trace coffee's origins to Ethiopia and its arrival in India by the seventeenth
century.
◦
However, coffee (and tea) only became a significant phenomenon in India by the end of the
nineteenth century.
◦
Being plantation crops, their cultivation was tied to colonialism. Mass consumption of coffee
dates from the period of Western colonial expansion, with most coffee consumed in Western
countries coming from areas colonized by Europeans.
◦
While cultivation in the Mysore region might have occurred by the eighteenth century, coffee
was largely a beverage for Europeans residing in India, with most produce exported to London.
◦
Even at the turn of the twentieth century, it was referred to as the drink of Europeans.
◦
By the early twentieth century, references to coffee use increased. Gazetteers noted a tendency
among higher classes and even lower classes (like Shudras and Pallans) to prefer coffee in the
morning over traditional drinks. A contemporary scholar commented that new beverages like
coffee and tea had become indispensable, and without them, no work got done.
•
Displacement of Traditional Drinks (Neeragaram):
◦
Coffee began to gradually displace neeragaram, especially in the countryside. Neeragaram was
made by fermenting rice water with added water and salt.
◦
Its demise was lamented by many intellectuals, seen as a sign of cultural anxiety.
◦
Advocates claimed neeragaram was cheap, nutritious, wholesome, good for health, and
nourished the body.
◦
A 1914 chapbook personified 'Cold Rice' accusing 'Coffee' of marginalising curd and buttermilk
and causing even coolies to demand coffee.
◦
One observer noted that as coffee grew, palayathu (leftover rice soaked overnight) was
forgotten, though its taste with specific side dishes was fondly remembered by some.
◦
However, the essay argues coffee was not just a substitute; it was a drink in its own right, and
displacing traditional drinks was only a part of its impact.
•
Cultural Anxiety and Criticism vs. Enthusiasm for Coffee:
◦
The introduction of coffee into Tamil society was marked by cultural anxiety matched by
consumption enthusiasm. There was tension between the perceived threat to physical/cultural
health and the fascination with coffee and its cultural associations.
◦
Enthusiasm: Coffee was described as providing magnificent pleasure, possibly surpassing
heavenly bliss, offering cheer, vigour, and energy. Advertisements promoted it similarly.
◦
Criticism (Conservative/Traditional): A primary criticism was that coffee drinking was
unnecessary in India and was not consumed by ancestors. Coffee and tea were late entrants
and did not feature in indigenous medicinal texts, although popular belief held them to be heat-
and bile-producing.
◦
Criticism (Modern/Health-based): Arguments were couched in terms of modern medicine,
health, and hygiene.
▪
One critic (D. Ramaswamy Iyengar) argued coffee and tea were stimulants that turned users
into addicts, interfered with sleep, and spoilt appetite, comparing them unfavourably even to
liquor, which he argued was a depressant.
▪
It was claimed that increased coffee drinking led to increased infant mortality, diabetes,
constipation, and other diseases.
▪
Moderation was advised for existing users, while non-users were warned to stay away.
▪
Filter coffee was deemed "more addictive than even beer and arrack" by one critic. Gandhians
reportedly called it 'kutti kal' ('the junior alcohol').
▪
The organ of the Women's Indian Association, Stri-Dharma, argued coffee and tea were not
food, stimulated temporarily but subverted digestive vitality, and created unknown diseases
when the body was weak.
◦
Criticism (Cultural/Western Influence):
▪
Maraimalai Adigal, a proponent of the Pure Tamil movement, called coffee (along with tea,
cocoa, and liquor) "obnoxious stuff" that people consumed frequently, including countryfolk who
previously didn't know of it.
▪
There was a fear of the West transgressing into the sovereign realm of culture, particularly the
countryside and its folk. This fear was expressed regarding coffee displacing neeragaram.
▪
The chapbook contrasting English coffee and Indian soaked rice personified Coffee as an
immoral woman who led people astray and disturbed traditional austerities.
▪
Similar fears were expressed about coffee's influence on women. Some high-class Brahmin
ladies were seen as addicted to coffee, drinking it multiple times daily and considering it
fashionable, which was viewed as a "Western vice" hindering the non-cooperation movement.
▪
Coffee was blamed for women losing touch with home remedies and rushing to doctors for
slight ailments.
▪
Young women were seen as emaciated by coffee, unable to breastfeed, and instead using
bottled milk.
▪
The spread of coffee drinking was also blamed for milkmen over-milking cows, depriving calves,
and thus impoverishing national cattle wealth.
▪
The incursion of coffee was viewed as a threat to national health, culture, and vitality, exposing
the countryside and women (bearers of culture and tradition) to Western dangers.
•
Coffee as a Cultural Marker for the Middle Class:
◦
Despite the perceived dangers, coffee became indispensable.
◦
Educated, wealthy, and cultured people began seeing daily consumption as indispensable and
a matter of pride.
◦
Coffee and tea became cultural markers distinguishing the 'high' and the 'low' through
associated cultural practices.
◦
The emerging middle class, shaped by colonial education and urban jobs, negotiated and
ultimately appropriated coffee to align with their goals. This class debated various cultural
aspects, and coffee was part of this.
•
Coffee and Hospitality:
◦
Drinking coffee became tied to hospitality. Offering coffee became customary for guests in
middle-class Tamil homes.
◦
It was considered the touchstone of hospitality. Not offering a guest coffee was seen as an
insult.
◦
Advertisements revolved around coffee as a fitting drink for guests.
◦
Fictional writings from the 1930s and 40s frequently depicted coffee being offered to visitors,
often in Brahmin households.
◦
Having "awful" coffee was the "darkest condemnation of a family".
◦
The widespread use of metal tumblers with rims (unlike rimless North Indian ones) was a Tamil
(Brahmin) invention allowing drinking without sipping the rim, facilitating balancing hospitality
with avoiding ritual pollution.
•
Defining 'Good' Coffee:
◦
The middle class codified how 'good' coffee should be made and consumed.
◦
It had to be made from freshly roasted and ground beans for every occasion.
◦
Detailed descriptions highlight the precision involved: selecting quality beans, slow roasting over
charcoal to the right shade, grinding to perfect grains, drawing the decoction at the right density,
and adding fresh warm milk to achieve the right colour.
◦
The amount of sugar was also precise – enough to mitigate bitterness without making it sweet.
◦
Manual coffee grinders were still used in middle-class Brahmin families.
◦
Coffee blended with chicory was looked down upon by purists. One story depicts God being
unfamiliar with chicory, which is compared to fraudsters. However, blending eventually became
somewhat acceptable, though purists frowned upon it.
◦
Good coffee was made only with cow's milk, reflecting the ritual importance of the cow in
Brahmin discourse. Using buffalo's milk was a sign of cultural/moral degeneration.
◦
Coffee made with unadulterated cow's milk is still called 'degree coffee' in some areas like
Tanjavur and Kumbakonam, strongholds of Tamil Brahminism. This contrasts with places like
North Arcot, where 'beef biriyani' is widely available.
•
Defining 'Proper' Coffee Drinking:
◦
The middle class also codified the right manner of drinking coffee.
◦
Scorn was directed at those who drank coffee "improperly," often associated with the
countryside. Examples included drinking from a dinner plate or mixing cold water with hot
coffee.
◦
Uncultured people supposedly gulped large tumblers instead of savouring small doses.
◦
Sipping 'good' coffee frequently, savouring flavour and aroma, was a mark of cultural
attainment.
•
Addiction and Habit:
◦
Coffee drinking became a habit and indispensable for the middle class.
◦
Withdrawal was said to cause headaches.
◦
One writer commented needing coffee around 1 pm to avoid headaches.
◦
The indispensability is humorously highlighted in an essay advising against cutting out coffee
from the budget, calling it essential and comparing withdrawal symptoms to "canine
tendencies".
•
Coffee as Metaphor:
◦
Coffee was used as a metaphor in Tamil writings of the 1930s and 40s to discuss various
issues.
◦
It was used to explain the need to discuss 'How to make coffee' (like discussing English prose
norms) only when one is new to it.
◦
A modernist writing style was unfavourably compared to a body emaciated by drinking ten cups
of coffee daily while foregoing proper meals.
◦
Coffee figured prominently in the debate on coining technical terms in Tamil. Proponents of a
Sanskrit-based vocabulary taunted the Tamil-identity group by asking for the Tamil word for
'coffee'.
◦
This indicates that arguments about Tamilness and how the language should adapt to
modernity were articulated through coffee.
◦
C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) used a conversation about coffee preparation to argue for accepting
loan terms into Tamil, pointing out existing Arabic and Persian words in the language.
◦
Some Tamil enthusiasts accepted the term 'kapi' (Tamilised form of coffee) as acceptable.
Scholars like U.V. Swaminatha Iyer viewed it as a legitimate Tamilised loanword. 'Periyar' E.V.
Ramaswamy also argued for accepting foreign terms like 'kapi' if they were in vogue and easy
to pronounce when no native term existed for a new idea.
•
The 'Coffee Hotel' or 'Coffee Club':
◦
With widespread coffee use, a new institution emerged in towns and cities: the 'coffee hotel' or
'coffee club,' serving coffee (and tiffin, not tea).
◦
These hotels were noticed and commented upon from the 1920s to 1950s.
◦
They were often defined as public taverns instituted by Brahmins.
◦
They became indispensable social spaces: a refuge for entertaining friends when home wasn't
feasible, a place of congregation in villages, a place for traders to clinch deals in towns, and
frequented by wage-earners, students, and sub-editors. They also served families tired of
homemade food.
◦
The coffee hotel was generally run by and popularly associated with Brahmins. The cry "Iyer!
Bring me a cup of coffee" was common. Some were even explicitly named 'brahmanal hotel'.
◦
Critics from the Dravidian movement derisively called Brahmin adversaries "coffee-shop
wretches".
◦
Criticism was also directed at Brahmin coffee shop operators regarding hygiene and adherence
to religious codes. They were depicted as 'fallen' Brahmins.
◦
Complaints about uncleanliness (reused cups, adulterated milk, dirty waiters/cooks, unhealthy
ambience) were frequent, interpreted as cultural anxiety about the loss of caste purity amidst
urban modernity.
◦
Nationalists saw coffee hotels as quietly levelling distinctions, achieving what education or
legislation couldn't.
◦
However, this concealed the fact that separate spaces were often reserved for Brahmins,
inaccessible to non-Brahmins. This was a fiercely guarded privilege, with attempts to abolish it
facing opposition.
◦
'Periyar' articulated the radical non-Brahmin perspective, highlighting the lack of equality and the
presence of boards discriminating against 'Shudras', 'Panchamas', 'lepers', and 'dogs'.
◦
After formal abolition of discrimination, Periyar campaigned to remove the term 'brahmin' from
hotel names, arguing that caste oppression was determined through food and the government
shouldn't permit using caste in hotel names. He famously tarred 'brahmin' from a cafe
nameplate.
•
Tea, the 'Other':
◦
As coffee became the cultural marker for the Tamil (especially Brahmin) middle class, tea was
constructed as its 'other'.
◦
Tea and its consumers were identified with what coffee and its consumers were not.
◦
Tea became related to the urban working class. Advertisements promoted it based on its low
price and high quality, pitched at this demographic. It was advertised as a cheap source of
pleasure and vigour for workers.
◦
While widespread in north India across classes, tea remains pre-eminently a working-class drink
in Tamilnadu.
◦
Arrangements were made in mills for workers to receive daily tea. Most mills served only tea to
workers, except one newspaper office which served coffee to its press workers.
◦
The middle class identified tea with the working class. The rickshaw-puller, an archetype of the
urban lower class, is described as regularly drinking tea at frequent intervals.
◦
Drinking tea was seen as a crucial marker of the "degenerate urban working class".
◦
Roadside 'tea shops' are primarily for lower-class people, even if they sell coffee. The middle
class patronizes 'hotels' (without the 'coffee' adjective today) that serve tiffin and coffee, not tea.
◦
Tea also had another association: it is generally accepted that the best tea is found in Muslim
households and non-vegetarian restaurants run by Muslims ('military hotels').
◦
One writer used "drinking tea at a brahmin hotel" as a phrase for someone crazy, reflecting the
popular belief that Brahmin shops served the best coffee while Muslim shops served excellent
tea.
•
Conclusion:
◦
Coffee evolved from an early European beverage in India to a significant cultural element by the
late nineteenth century.
◦
It was initially seen by the middle-class intelligentsia as a threatening Western symbol that
weakened society and culture.
◦
However, the middle class ultimately appropriated coffee, defining its cultural practices of
making and consuming it.
◦
Through this process, tea was defined as the 'other', associated with the working class and
Muslims, while coffee became a marker of the Tamil middle class.
◦
Coffee also became a significant metaphor in cultural debates.
◦
The author suggests coffee is a rich, inexhaustible theme worthy of a saga
"Making tea in India: Chai, capitalism, culture" by Philip Lutgendorf.
This essay examines the process by which tea, initially introduced to India in the early 19th
century as a colonial cash crop, was transformed and popularized during the 20th century to
become chai, now often considered India's 'national drink'. This transformation involved
innovative marketing by both British and Indian companies, technological advancements in tea
processing, and changes in social practices and spaces, particularly in urban areas.
The essay covers several key aspects of this historical and cultural process:
•
Colonial Introduction and Early Export Focus: Tea cultivation began in India (mainly Assam) in
the early 19th century, initiated by the East India Company. Initially, this was driven by British
demand and a desire to break China's monopoly on tea production. The industry involved
significant labor exploitation, with indentured labor imported from other regions. For decades,
Indian-grown tea was intended almost solely for export to the West.
•
Early Domestic Consumption and Obstacles: A tiny fraction of the native population, mainly the
Anglophile elite in Calcutta, began drinking tea in the mid-19th century, prepared by steeping
leaves and adding milk and sugar. Early attempts to introduce tea to the broader Indian
population in the early 20th century had modest success and were eventually abandoned, with
officials concluding there wasn't a promising market. Obstacles included tea being perceived as
a 'foreign' commodity associated with the exploitative colonial regime and ingrained cultural
preferences for other beverages. Early advertising was primarily aimed at resident Britishers
and the Anglophone elite.
•
The "Great Tea Campaign": The situation changed drastically with the Great Depression in the
early 1930s, which caused international tea prices to drop and created a large unsold surplus.
This made the prospect of a domestic market suddenly appealing. In 1935, the Tea Cess
Committee was reorganized as the Indian Tea Market Expansion Board (ITMEB) and launched
a massive marketing campaign. This campaign involved dispatching hundreds of 'tea
propagandists' with motorized vans to dispense millions of cups of free tea and sell cheap 'one
pice' packets of broken-grade tea. They used colorful, vernacular signage and demonstration
teams to teach the "correct" British method of brewing tea.
•
Marketing Rhetoric: The ITMEB campaign employed a dual rhetoric regarding the word 'habit'.
On one hand, they touted the physical and moral benefits of the "tea habit," suggesting it would
make Indians more alert, energetic, and punctual, i.e., more like Britishers. On the other hand,
they embraced a "mercantilism" that acknowledged the beverage's mildly habit-forming nature,
aiming to give out enough free samples to create a craving that customers would pay for. The
campaign also adopted nationalist rhetoric, championing tea as India's 'national beverage' that
could potentially unify diverse groups. Indigenous firms like A. Tosh & Sons and Wagh Bakri
also used nationalist slogans like ‘Be Indian, Buy Indian!’ and themes of national unity in their
advertising. ITMEB also encouraged factory owners and office managers to set up canteens
and offer afternoon 'tea breaks' to boost productivity.
•
Emergence of Indian Methods and CTC Technology: Despite the ITMEB's efforts to teach the
"correct" British brewing method, many Indians developed their own way of making tea. This
involved dumping all ingredients (tea leaves, milk, sugar, and often spices like ginger or
cardamom) into a single vessel and boiling them together. This method allowed for much more
milk than the British preferred (often 50% or more), thorough blending of spices, and maximized
color and flavor extraction from leaf fragments and 'dust'. Indian consumers developed a
preference for these 'low-grade' teas. A significant technological development was the Crush,
Tear, Curl (CTC) machine, initially developed by a Scotsman in 1931 but later redesigned by
Indian engineers in the late 1950s. This machine revolutionized the Indian tea industry by
producing tiny leaf fragments suitable for rapid, potent brewing, and enabled "continuous
manufacture" with reduced manpower. By 1999, CTC teas accounted for over 90% of Indian
output.
•
Economic Impact of CTC: The economies of scale with CTC production dramatically reduced
the per-unit price of prepared chai, doubling the 'cuppage' (cups per kilo of tea). This spurred
the entry of thousands of small-scale entrepreneurs who opened 'loose tea' shops and roadside
'chai shops'. The availability of CTC tea is cited as the most important factor driving the massive
growth in domestic consumption that led to the Indian market accounting for about 75% of the
country's annual tea crop by the end of the century.
•
Cultures of Chai and Social Spaces: Tea consumption developed distinct social spaces and
practices. Early formal venues included 'tea cabins' in Calcutta (Kolkata), often run by
immigrants, which were small establishments with marble-top tables and limited menus, serving
ready-mixed tea according to elite taste (infused decoction mixed with milk and sugar before
serving). These cabins flourished into the 1980s and served as social spaces for largely male
clientele for conversation ('addā') and camaraderie. Similarly, 'Irani Cafés' in Bombay (Mumbai)
were established by Zoroastrian immigrants from Iran. They initially served strong black tea with
rock sugar but adapted to Indian preferences by adding creamy buffalo milk to orders just
before serving ('Irani chai'). Irani cafés also served as low-cost, mainly male social spaces,
equipped with marble-top tables and cane chairs. Both types of establishments declined due to
rising real estate prices and changing aspirations. Today, chai is often dispensed in tiny shops
and by streetside carts, including the popular 'cutting chai' (a small serving 'cut' into two) in
Mumbai.
•
Chai Shops as Egalitarian Spaces (and exceptions): Chai shops in smaller cities continue to
function as club-like social venues, frequented by diverse people including poets, politicians,
and professors, serving as places to gather news and gauge public opinion. Part of the
discourse around these sites is that they encourage egalitarianism and break down caste-based
restrictions, as "Everyone is equal at the chai shop". However, traditional discrimination has
persisted in some areas; pre-Independence Bombay cafés served chai in color-coded cups and
denied entry to untouchables. Although federally outlawed in 1948, some rural chai stalls still
practiced (or practice) discrimination, making Dalits sit separately or serving them in disposable
or separate cups.
•
The Tea Industry and Capitalism: The Indian tea industry, second only to the railways in
employment, is characterized by its decentralized nature. Unlike Sri Lanka, where major
blenders like Lipton owned large plantations, Indian blenders and packers seldom ventured
extensively into growing. The industry involves multiple layers of middlemen and firms
specializing in different phases, leading to a large number of economic beneficiaries. The
auction system in Calcutta allowed small Indian firms like A. Tosh and Sons and Wagh Bakri to
compete with larger foreign companies like Brooke Bond and Lipton. Loose tea shops, which
purchase bulk tea directly and create custom blends, accounted for over 60% of domestic sales
by the 1960s and were recognized by large companies as formidable competitors due to their
ability to "know their market intimately" and offer quality, freshness, and face-to-face
accountability that appealed to bazaar consumers. This decentralized model, where small
players coexist and compete with large multinationals, is seen as defying typical Western
capitalist logic where large entities devour smaller ones.
•
Chai's Enduring Social Role: Despite worries about competition from more upscale beverages
like coffee and soft drinks, chai remains central to Indian social life. The essay concludes that
for the vast majority of Indians, nearly all social interactions and transactions, from personal
relationships to business and politics, "still happens over, and around, chai".
The author, Philip Lutgendorf, is a Professor of Hindi and Modern Indian Studies at the
University of Iowa, and his research interests include popular culture and social history. This
essay draws from his larger work on the social history of chai in India