BHUBANESWAR: Few things are as refreshing as a cup of tea in an early winter morning. Rich or poor, young or old, everyone craves this ancient appetiser since time immemorial. The best thing about this refreshment is its affordability. Rarely would it cost more than ten bucks even in metros. However, due to the fondness of lounge culture among affluent communities, costlier variations of this drink are creeping into the mainstream.
Orissa Post interacted with a few Tea lounge managers, clients and tea experts to delve deeper into the subject.
Anita Moitri, a tea connoisseur of the city said, “Tea lounges in the city are still facing teething problems. Costlier varieties of the drink are usually not preferred by common masses. However, there is no denying the fact that tea lounges offer a special feel. Places like Chai Break, Chac A Tea and Tea Pot are serving high-end tea. People with a burning pocket have their preference for tea sorted due to these places.”
Snigdha Manchanda who founded ‘Tea Trunk,’ a gourmet tea label with signature blends and spokesperson for the Tea Board of India also represents the Indian Tea Industry at conferences around the world. She said, “People usually think that different variety of tea come from altered plant types. However, white tea, oolong tea, green tea and black tea all come from the same plant. It’s the varied levels of processing that differentiates it.”
“People usually believe that tea tastes good with everything. However, like wine, varieties of tea pair better with certain foods. The thumb rule for pairing is fresh notes with fresh foods – like lemon grass tea with cucumber salad. Vanilla tea can be paired with chocolate cake because they are from the same family,” she added. Manchanda has even pioneered the concept of ‘tea walks’ in Mumbai.
Sunnanda Bagchi, a city based writer and tea lover, said, “Chac A Tea is a tea lounge which is open all day every day. The tea lounge has the most inviting array of local and international patisserie delights. One can dig into the cold cuts, cheese and spreads among others. One can only try resisting the fine selection of teas.”
Naba Kumar Behera of Chai Break Lounge said, “The items which are usually preferred by clients are Masala Chai, Kesar Chai, Elachi, White tea, Green tea, Lemon tea, Hibiscus tea, Royal tea and Cinnamon tea among others.”
BOX ITEM:
Varieties of Tea:
WHITE TEA
White tea is the purest and least processed of all. White tea has a light colour and flavour and is appreciated by tea connoisseurs for its unmatched subtlety, natural sweetness and delicacy.
GREEN TEA
Green tea is the most popular in Asia. Some loose green tea leaves are scented with flowers or mixed with fruits to create scented or flavoured teas. Straight green tea has a clean and delicious taste.
OOLONG TEA
Oolong tea, (pronounced as wu long tea), is most commonly recognised as a Chinese tea served mainly at Chinese restaurants.
BLACK TEA
Black tea is what most of us have grown up drinking. Full-bodied and strong, black tea tastes great alone or can be had with milk and sugar. It makes for great iced tea too.
HERBAL TEA
Herbal tea is the only tea that does not contain any leaves from the Camellia plant family. It can be of three types i) Rooibos tea ii) Mate tea iii) Herbal infusions. Herbal infusions consist of pure herbs, flowers and fruits. They can be delicious in both hot and iced forms.
ROOIBOS TEA
Rooibos tea is herbal infusions made from a South African red bush. It is popularly called ‘Red tea’. It comes in a variety of flavours and can be had either hot or ice cold.
MATE TEA
Mate tea is considered the coffee lover’s favourite tea as it tastes like coffee. Mate is a wild shrub from Argentina that makes for a delicious, flavourful tea. Often consumed in a gourd with a filtered straw and shared among friends, these herbal teas are full of bold flavours.
BLOOMING TEAS
Also called artisan or flowering teas, these teas actually `bloom’ as they steep. They are hand tied by tea artists and often include some type of flavour or scent along with a beautiful design.
TEA BLENDS
Tea blends combines more than one type of premium tea, giving it a great flavour.
DID YOU KNOW
After being sold at a record price of $1,850 per kg recently, Darjeeling’s Makaibari tea estate has become one of the most expensive tea producers in the world.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT TEA
1) Tea is the second most consumed drink in the world, water being the first.
2) The lesser a tea leaf is processed, greater the antioxidants. This means green tea has more antioxidants than black tea. White tea, being the least processed, has the maximum antioxidants.
3) Black tea can be preserved for long periods of time, which is why China would send black tea out to the rest of the world. So, while the Chinese still consume green tea, the rest of world consumes more black tea.
Chaitali Shome, OP