Anita Anand

If it's a good masala chai, it will have cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon.

You know, it was attributed or it was credited with so many magical powers, Giles.

I mean, I was looking up cure for flatulence, cure for dysentery, a hallucinogen, blood poisoning.

I mean, was there anything they thought it didn't do?

And they had celebrity believers as well.

I mean, Peeps is one of those people who swore by the stuff.

He said, you know, this is the only thing that saved me while others have died around me.

So shall we talk about where you got these things?

Because for something that was so sought after that everybody wanted to get their hands on, it was bloody difficult to get your hands on.

Where did it grow exactly?

I mean, difficult to find the islands, but also they're a bugger to grow.

I mean, do you want to know some, what do you like a nutmeg tree fact?

They take about six to seven to nine years to fruit.

So, you know, it's not the kind of kidnap crop that you could, if you are a colonial, as we've discussed with tea and other things, that you could sort of sneak off and take a cutting and start your own industry.

These things have to be, these trees, giles have to be established.

They have to be mature.

And Indian cooking also uses mace a great deal.

I don't know any other cooking that does.

We have little pots of it.

Right.