This book is not entirely a recipe book, though every chapter includes a delicious chai recipe that you can make from home and is inspired by members of our multicultural bestea family. This book is not entirely a history book, though it interacts with multiple histories. It’s not entirely a self-help book, though it has a collection of ideas that might be helpful to you. I like to think of this book as a topography of meaning, a map of sorts displaying points of interest where you can make pit stops to refresh yourself as you navigate the hills and valleys of your own lived experiences.

Each chapter of this book invites you to slow down. To pause. To resist a hurried posture in a hustle-obsessed culture that can often prevent us from savoring the important things, like a cup of homemade chai. And if you haven’t already, my hope is that you, too, may begin a love affair with chai. I hope that these pages offer you a bit of solace amid your struggles, and peace in a world that can feel anything but peaceful, just as a steaming cup of chai smooths out the rough edges of your day.