A CUP OF TEA AND A STORY

TEA …does this word strike a chord in your mind, or do you miss a heartbeat if you miss your morning cup of tea. Oh! Dear, these are nothing meant for me. Am I supposed to be an out of the world one!!! Well! For me, tea is a delicacy, a memory, a story to go on from generation to generation. My great-granddad was very much fond of tea and at that time, says about in the 1950s it was a luxurious affair indeed. My grandmom used to make a big pot full of tea in the early morning. Other old village men used to gather in our courtyard and eventually they all ended up having tea with a daily dose of big talks. Though I couldn’t experience any such things, but the description was so vivid that I felt as if I have seen all. For me, tea was always meant special. While traveling on a long-distance train, the nasal tone of the hawkers in the station, shouting for “CHAI! CHAI!” always made me more curious about the drink. I knew I won’t get a better tea from these vendors, yet every time I would buy in the hope of getting a better taste to remember long.

Not only me but for many of us, tea holds a special place. In some cultures making tea is a part of rituals, it’s an art. There is various way of making tea to appease our tea-thrust. To bring out the right flavor, taste, and color of the tea, is a matter of precision. Talking about tea is like an epic experience. My good friend Samya Roy once enlightened me with some beautiful inputs on Indian Tea varieties. In the Indian market, we get mainly three major varieties of Tea—green Tea, Kangra& Orthodox.

Now a day’s people are more fascinated with green tea for its antioxidant property and nutrients. Green tea helps to detox your body and melts your stubborn fat. So, while a cup of green tea detoxifies your body, the toxic contents accumulate in the kidney. Hence, it is advisable to take plenty of water as well to flush out those toxins, otherwise, the effect may differ. On a funny note, one surly would lose fat, once the person will pluck the leaves by self and make tea out of it.

Kangra tea has a distinctive flavor. The subtle taste and smell can make your morning happier. It doesn’t produce dark liquor, as it is leaf-based. People, like my dad, who enjoys black tea, Kangra could be a wise pick for them.

In general, we drink orthodox tea. It has two different varieties, leaf and CTC or crushes, tears and curl. Well, leaf further can be divided into – leaf, half dust, and dust. CTC, on the other hand, has numerous varieties too, like—PD, OF, BP, BOP &, etc. Most of the street side tea sellers use the low-quality CTC tea only, thus we get color but no flavor. People, who love to have milk infused tea, use CTC and at the end of preparation, they tend to add pinches of leaf tea to get the flavor as well. One may get the best quality CTC tea from Assam’s tea gardens, where it has taste and flavor but may cost a bit heavy. Darjeeling tea is widely marketed and It is processed as black, green, white and oolong tea. When properly brewed, it yields a thin-bodied, light-colored infusion with a floral aroma. Some may like Nilgiri tea as well and draw a comparison between Darjeeling and Nilgiri varieties. Darjeeling tea is a very light-colored infusion with a mossy-vegetal and some may even say fruity flavor. The flavor tends to last on the palate for a long time and is very palatable. Nilgiri tea, on the other hand, is known for its extremely strong aroma.

Oh!!! We have chatted over a long tea story. Without taking much of your time, I may conclude with a little tip. Take a small amount of tea, and start rubbing it with your thumb on to your palm. If those tea granules pinch your skin, then it’s fresh tea. And if it doesn’t pinch, it’s stale. Tea is very sensitive and it loses its taste within two to three months of plucking. Next time you go for a tea shopping remember these, and you will get good quality for sure…. Bon Apetit!!

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@anindita