Nothing is as rejuvenating and refreshing as sipping on a cuppa of one’s favourite tea watching the rains. With the monsoon here now, we fill you up with tea gyaan and thumb rules on making that perfect blended tea that you always wanted. Ace adman and tea connoisseur Prahlad Kakkar, who ran India Tea Centre in Mumbai for several years, says, “Teas are invigorating yet subtle just like the British who have an understated elegance to them. Coffee, on the other hand, is in your face and unsophisticated like the Americans. Tea making is a complete adventure and one can mix one’s blend depending on their palate. The perfect blend can be varied in terms of how strong, vigorous and aromatic it is. But there are a few thumb rules that one must remember while making tea. Firstly, one must put only 1 tsp of tea leaves for a cup and 1 tsp tea leaves for a pot, if one is making one cup of tea. Secondly, boiling water must be poured on to the leaves. Then one must shut it and let it infuse for 2 to 3 minutes — depending on how strong you want it. Never boil the tea.” He adds, “There are two types of teas essentially — the breakfast tea and the chai time tea. The breakfast tea is the Assam tea variety — it is orthodox and has a darker and redder hue, and is an outstanding breakfast tea. It is strong, full bodied and is made with milk and sugar. It pumps you up and keeps you going through the day. The chai time tea, on the other hand, is aromatic and delicate. Usually, it is not made with milk and only a wee bit of sugar is added. It is strong and has a stronger liqueur. That is why the tea turns bitter when you leave it standing for long in a pot. At home, I drink a mix of Darjeeling and Assam tea.”
Teas come with their own benefits and have been consumed from time immemorial. “Teas have many health benefits. Green tea for example is high on antioxidants. That’s why you can’t tell a Chinese person’s age,” he adds. He recalls that he’d have tea-tasting sessions at India Tea Centre, where they served a variety of teas like masala chai, pudina chai, black pepper flavoured teas, kullad ki chai (ordinary Assam CTC tea boiled in milk and sweetened with jaggery served in a mud pot). “We would have tea-tasting sessions everyday for tea connoisseurs and also had ‘blend your own tea’ sessions, Tea tasting is a ritual very similar to wine tasting. You have to relish the aroma, the strength and consistency of the tea,” informs Kakkar. So how does this tea connoisseur like his tea? “With just a leaf of mint in my Assam tea. I like the way the subtle taste is enhanced. When it comes to Darjeeling tea, fiddling with it is forbidden!”
Masala Chai mix
INGREDIENTS
50 gms dry pepper
50 gms dry ginger
10 gms black elaichi
10 gms cinnamon
5 cloves
5 green elaichi
½ nutmeg
Method
Grind all the ingredients and filter it. Put in an airtight container and use.