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There are many street tea/coffee sellers around India, and although the water has been boiled at some point, often the pots are out for a long time. The clay cups are also lying around in the dust. Is it safe to drink?
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If you define safe as 'not contracting a water-borne disease', then yes, you will be safe from contracting typhoid, jaundice, etc when you drink tea/coffee from street-side vendors. Boiling during the preparation effectively kills of the disease-causing germs, even if kept in covered kettles/pots as they usually are. A dirty clay cup would not cause a disease either as that's not the route for transmission of most of those diseases. Some street-vendors will prepare a cup fresh-to-order if you ask them to, but getting yourself understood is a different story altogether. With tea/coffee, it is usually unlikely that you'll get stomach cramps even for tourists. Other things such as dodgy ice are far more likely to get you sick. |
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Anything boiled should be safe to drink, and the dust on the cups shouldn't really be a problem, either. In my experience, most things in India tend to have a layer of dust on them no matter how fastidious you are. :) I disagree with @hippietrail about using "popular" places to judge their safety - popularity can be an indicator, but it's not a guarantee that you won't get ill. Most of the reason that travelers get sick is because they're consuming something their bodies either can't handle or haven't built up tolerance to. (Also, keep in mind that what the dine-in portion of a restaurant looks like isn't always indicative of what the kitchen looks like. I once was in a restaurant that was impeccable in the part where the customers were, but I saw the door to the kitchen swing open and there was a standing measure of dirty, muddy water with insects and dirty dishes everywhere.) Cold drinks and foods are usually more dangerous: as others have pointed out, you should be careful about fresh fruits or vegetables that you haven't prepared, and always either decline ice in your drink or specifically ask if it was made from filtered water (you might need to use the term "R/O water" - filtered through reverse osmosis). Ice cream / kulfi that isn't pre-packaged can be dangerous, too; street vendors typically don't wash their hands often. The bottom line is to be cautious without detracting from your sense of adventure and experiencing everything India has to offer. Ask if you have questions about the way something is prepared, be observant about the conditions of your food and its preparation, and when in doubt, go with your gut (no pun intended). |
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In general, you have to be careful. Like @hippietrail already mentions in the comments, the more popular the place is, the more safe it will be. But... it's not always because it's safe for the locals that it will be safe for you! Although, when you're traveling for a longer time (longer than a month), you can get your stomach accustomed to it, so when you start slowly, after a while you can even drink unboiled tap water in most places. Disclaimer: I haven't been to India yet, but I've been to Africa and South America, and I think this general advice applies for all places where the tap water isn't considered safe to drink by western standards. |
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I will recommend you to avoid any such food which has been prepared in open while you are in India, there are lots of reasons for it:
Many people living and travelling to India can suggest to you that nothing wrong will happen on consuming it, but I say it's better to be safe then worry, having food at good places can be costly, but it will save you from many other expenses. BTW I live in India :-) right @hippieTrail: I work in other city then my hometown (Mumbai, famous for it's streetside food), and prefer either food cooked on my own, or cooked by my maid in my home. and believe me first thing i taught to my maid was to daily wash her hands before starting cooking :-). by the way above advice was just based on comparative basis, if you need complete protection about your health, make arrangement for a place with your own kitchens, that is the best deal you can get here. |
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In my opinion the first time you eat the street food & drink you can get sick but after that you get used to it. The second thing to be aware of is that if you does not want to use street food & drink, you can use other costly places where all the food & drink is made cleanly & tidy. It depends on you, otherwise street food is good in taste. I live in India and it has not affected me once. |
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Surely there are variety of places in India on what you can eat and cannot. Look for something
There are multiple websites available for what kind of food you can get and etc , it will depend upon where you are going |
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Tea & coffee is boiled, thus safe. This is true at any altitude tea is served . I have lived by this many months in Leh, same altitude as Lhasa, and on the road there with tea stalls a thousand meters higher. Water is safe by mouth long before it reaches 100 degrees, given time. See here for more on this, with sources. |
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