Pakistan and tea

It is something of a terrible understatement to say that Pakistan has had a terrible 2022. Disastrous flooding has left large swathes of the country under water and there is a rise in the number and severity of waterborne diseases. Now the people of the country are being asked to make another major sacrifice in order to keep Pakistan’s economy from breaking. To drink less tea.

The Government has asked that everyone across the country drink one or two less cups of tea every day in order to bring down Pakistan’s high import bills. Pakistan is the world’s largest tea importer.

Tea is fundamental to the Pakistani way of life. The nation has a passion for tea (chai) that outstrips many other nations globally. Some idea of the passion in which Pakistani’s treat tea can be gauged by the national slogan for greeting guests ‘Chai lenge ya thanda (Do you want tea or a drink?).’