Dirty Chai is a website created with both parents and coffee lovers in mind. We aim to provide practical and insightful resources for parents who want the best for their kids, but we also know that life can be really hard and we all need a little help sometimes… so we’ve also got some personal stories about the challenges of parenting up there too. Basically, it’s like Oprah for mums and dads (although I don’t think she drinks coffee).
Literally, Dirty Chai is an infusion of chai spices into black tea; an Indian spiced drink that is delicious. However metaphorically ‘dirty’ means something different in almost every language: bizarre, filthy, wrong… you get the picture. And when something has more than one meaning, it can be confusing. I’ve been using the name Dirty Chai to mean both the website and the chai spice drink since the beginning, because while it’s fun to say “Dirty Chai” – I also like how ambiguous it is. But if I was the only one who thought this, and most people read it as “Dirty” meaning: incorrect/inappropriate/indecent… I probably wouldn’t use the name.
The art of Doing stuff
One of my favourite blogs is The Art of Doing Stuff … Alex Gohari’s thoughtful advice for parents every single day is something that I have really enjoyed reading over the last year or so. And he recently wrote a post called The Dirty Chai Mess about how many people were confused by the name of my website, chalking it up to me being immature or irresponsible rather than ambiguous. It was an interesting take on what is actually meant by “dirty”. However, his initial concern was understandable because even though he found out what dirty chai means to me, not everyone who stumbles on my site from a Google search will know that. What if I’m trying to find out how to make chai spice for my mum who’s coming to visit? What if I want a recipe for Chai tea without the dirty chai spices in it?
Dirty chai a name, and reviews
I’ve considered changing the name of Dirty Chai, but in the end, I decided that ambiguity is worth keeping. It makes Dirty Chai more interesting and engaging than just another parenting website. And if by chance someone does stumble onto it looking for a recipe at a later date – they’re in for a surprise! Also in the past when people have been confused by what “dirty” means in this context, I have been able to turn it into a conversation about what ambiguity in language is and why it’s fun and interesting to play with.
The Benefits of DirTy chai
The main benefit of dirty chai is that it is very delicious. Thus, in a way it can be considered to be a “natural” energy drink. It has been shown in various clinical studies that the consumption of caffeine can significantly improve performance and endurance during physical activity. The effects increase in direct proportion to the amount consumed within certain limits (the same relates to tea). · Another advantage is when compared with other drinks such as coffee or black tea, dirty chai has a much lower concentration of caffeine. It means when you drink one cup of dirty chai you take less caffeine than when drinking one espresso or black tea. At the same time, dirty chai contains antioxidants from three different origins: green tea, spices and herbs. So you are not only getting the caffeine boost but also taking in an antioxidant kick.
