High Tea

Sweet and milky,thats how most of us like our poison. But in its birth place,tea is a beverage worthy of a lengthy and somewhat tedious ceremony.

Kolkatas tea habits dont quite live up to its high-brow reputation

Sweet and milky,thats how most of us like our poison. But in its birth place,tea is a beverage worthy of a lengthy and somewhat tedious ceremony. In ancient China,tea leaves were first steamed,then broken,flattened into a loaf through the addition of different ingredients. This tea-loaf was then seasoned and grilled over naked fire. Then,the loaf of tea,which probably looked very much like a loaf of toasted brown bread,was ground between fine paper sheets. Salted water,meanwhile,was boiled in a container,into which the crushed tea loaf was added along with a spoonful of cold water. Then of course,they waited patiently for the particles to settle. The ceremony ended with the pouring of the concoction into cups and flavouring of it with milk and onions.

Thankfully,for the high-on-sweet-milky-tea Kolkatans,the process of tea making evolved,or should we say disintegrated over the years.

Today,India is the second largest producer of tea in the world and exported as much as 196 million kgs of tea last year. Yet,while others may like this humble beverage in more posher avatars and have innovated with tea (read green,tea bags and Japanese teacakes) we like it plain and simple. Indians like tea with milk and sugar. The sweet and milky concoction which is consumed in copious quantity all over the country, said Basudev Banerjee,chairman,Tea Board of India,who inaugurated a tea festival at Café The this Wednesday.

While the flavourful Darjeeling tea is very much in demand in tea-friendly Kolkata,West Bengal lags behind Gujarat and Maharashtra when it comes to tea consumption. People from these two states love their cup of tea, said Banerjee. Assam and Nilgiri continue to be the tea of the masses,while Darjeeling tea retains its excusive status. So is Kolkata populist in its tea habit? Assam CTC tea is more popular in the city, smiles Banrejee.

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