Leena Trivedi

Food Writing | Recipe Development | Communications

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Chinese Tea with Theresa Wong & Masala Chai with Leena Trivedi-Grenier

This week, we dive into the world of tea, its history, and traditions. First up, we visit the T Shop in New York City with East Asian tea expert Theresa Wong. Theresa leads Francis through a tea tasting, from black, thru oolong all the way to green. We learn a few brewing tips along the way as well. Then, food and culture writer Leena Trevedi-Grenier talks to us about the surprising story of Masala Chai's history and gives us an in-depth guide to spicing and techniques for making the perfect cup.

Racism Caused Early Graying. Now I Turn It Into Hair Art.

I was 16 when I found my first gray hair. Judging by its multiple siblings, it had likely been there for a while. I was playing the xylophone in my high-school band when a friend standing behind me pointed it out. The strangest part was that the hair wasn’t gray, but a pure white from root to tip. It felt wrong, foreign, like an invader on my body. This is only supposed to happen to old people, I thought as I yanked it out.

How to Make a Better Cup of Iced Chai

Confession: I hate iced chai. I keep buying it because I feel like I should like it, considering my love affair with masala chai and my Indian heritage. Plus, sometimes it’s just too damn hot for a traditional cup of chai, but I still need those flavors in my day, you know? Every time I order the iced version, though, I’m faced with a tall, cool glass of blandness that’s watered down, syrupy, and resembles chai only in name. When I make it at home, it’s not much better.

There’s a Lot More to Masala Chai Than Spiced Milk Tea

Three times a day there is a small pot of masala chai bubbling on my stove, threatening to overflow. Milky foam and spice-filled bubbles rise above the pot’s edges, flecked with black tea granules and just daring me to look away. When I inevitably do, to help my daughter find her shoe or to break up a fight, not two seconds later I’ll hear that unmistakable whoosh and sizzle as chai floods my stovetop and smothers the flame. It mocks me. Chai’s strength knows no bounds.

Make your own ice pops inspired by world traditions

Dozens of polychromatic ice pops tumble to the floor every time I open my freezer, little frozen jewels of fruit that pack a punch on naked feet.

That’s because my family can’t stop making ice pops. A silicone mold has been our best purchase of the pandemic. There’s been watermelon, peach and blackberry ice pops, whose seeds got so hard and scratchy that only my 4-year-old would eat them (looking like an extra from “The Walking Dead” every time).
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