Tangy Zesty & Estatic - Absolutely Tealicious Cuppa Chai

Monday Morning Freshness! 

A night before scrap some lemony zest in a cupful of water. Let it rest overnight for the water to absorb the bitter-sweet tanginess from the zests. Get up early in the morning (He!He!) wash your mouth and charge at the stove. Take a spoonful of leaves from a good brand, Wagh Bakri, Tata, or Green leaves of Organic India. The best is to add both black and green variants in equal proportions.     

Sprinkle the leaves in the water containing zest and lift it to the stove. Now add a mix of cinnamon and cardamon powder. This will enhance the earthy and musky flavors of the leaves. Gung Ho brings the mixture to a boil and strains. 

Slurp! There you have one of the most tealicious hot brews on Earth. Good Morning!   

Have it with Poha or just bread and butter. Better still sip the cup full to savor the aroma without any conflict and then dive for brekky.  

I sip mine, predawn, on the balcony when the World is asleep.

Video Relationship & Wagh Bakri Tea

Rishto Ki Garmahat

Relationship can only happen with Wagh Bakri Tea

The Tealicious Brew That Cheers

Say Cheers! Well, this is not done only with drinks this is done also with tea. Well if not said the brew does create a cheerful ambiance and enlivens your spirit. Regular sipping of premium teas is a soulful melody an aspect that keeps the spirit high of the depressed.     

Well, green tea does this with a small amount of harmful caffeine, unlike coffee. And the presence of EGCG accelerates your metabolism and burns extra fat. Hence this beverage facilitates weight loss. Something more to cheer thanks to EGCG.  

There are many different opinions regard as to which brew is the best Green, White, Oolong, or Black. Well in my opinion all work the same.  Though white and green variants have more antioxidants all these hot beverages pack the same punch as far as enlivening your body. It is not only the chemicals, it is the aroma and taste that jars your sensual apparatus and awakens.     

Spices added in the right amount give a tremendous boost to your spirits. Hence in India, people go for the masala chai with mind-boggling variants of the mix. Cinnamon, clove, ginger, cardamon, mint you name them and they all work.

Say Cheers! They Tealicious Way!   

Tea House - Cafe & Lounge

It's all about tea and vendors. Cafe, Coffee Shops, Tea Lounges, and hidden restaurants that focus on tea in Mumbai. 

Wagh Bakri Tea Lounge 

The first tea lounge in India offers tealicious range of WB teas and delicious choices of snacks. An excellent meeting place offers an ideal option for parties and business meet.  There are two joints in Mumbai one is situated Off Hanuman Road, Ville Parle Mumbai. The other is situated at BKC Bandra East.    

NCPA Cafe 

Situated bang opposite the Arabian Sea the cafe serves hot beverages as well as delicious food. It provides a refreshing and tranquil retreat in the maddening crowd of the mega city we call Mumbai.  

Tea Villa 

The joint offers a mind-boggling range of teas to its customers. Promises long hours and refreshing brew as tealicious escape from the rush.  

Cafe in The House 

Ideal for casual repast and some energizing beverages.

Kala Ghoda Cafe

Part cafe, part bakery, and an excellent eatery. Stroll around the gallery in this excellent meeting place in Ropewalk Lane.   

Chai Coffee

As the name suggests serves both chai and coffee. Best place for cutting chai and keema pav. 

For more Information Visit WB Tea Lounge

The Tripoto Site

Cooking With Tea - Tealicious

The wonderful hot oops and cold beverage is there for sipping right? Wrong it is there for cooking as well. Yes the leaves are added in food. Our own Indian cooking is a fine example were the leaves are added for color as in Chole.  

So take a fine blend of the leaves and start cooking. You never know, the contemporary trend is of innovation in cooking. Hook on to a food channel and discover mind boggling fusion cooking taking place. I was reading on an online portal called sunset.com  about many recipes that use the tea leaves for creating mind boggling food.    

Best types of leaves used for cooking are the jasmine flavored ones. Another wonder addition is the Darjeeling Leaf. Lapsang Souchong China.is another good choice. Genmacha and flowery Matcha from Japan. Addition of Indian Chai Masala can create wonder. So don the apron and light the stove. Here Goes!  

Here are some examples. 

Smoked Tea Duck

The crust in this case is created using the leaves and rice. This result in a crispy tealicious crust.  

Leaf Crusted Tofu

A crust of leaves is created and cooked along with mushrooms and cabbage.   

Green Tea in Soup 

Simmer in vegetables and broth the choicest green leaves and create a mind boggling soup.  

Darjeeling Dashi

Japanese soup stock with Darjeeling Leaves! Tealicious! 

Chai Spiced Cookies

Using English Breakfast Chai Leaves the extra softened bread creates tealicious cookies!

Cran Berry Green Tea Smoothie

Delicious and loaded with antioxidants. 

Black Berry Leaf Sorbet 

A refreshing desert with energizing black leaves post dinner! 

Find here recipe details at sunset Tea Recipies

Tealicious - A taste that tingles

I may have tasted many blends of tea as a regular consumer but what has increased my fixation to this wonder beverage are the Darjeeling and Premium Black Leaf Variants.

Darjeeling Leaf is grown in the notified gardens of the District of Darjeeling in the Indian State of West Bengal. Though the seeds sown were of  Chinese origin  the plant grew well and yielded leaf of amazing aroma and taste.

The premium production of this wonderful aromatic leaf depends upon the flush and also the estate it is produced in. The Tea Board of India certifies the authenticity of the produce. To bring the cost lower the leaf is also blended with premium black leaves. But this is not always the case as blending with the black leaf may yield a mix with superlative taste.  

Assam produces one of the finest black teas in India. While the leaf is cultivated in highlands in Darjeeling in this State it is cultivated at sea level. The State is a major producer and has large number of garden producing quality leaf. It is also known for its deep color and malty taste. It finds use in many exotic blends as well. But consumption is completely consumed by Indian masses. A part of exquisite premium blends are exported to UK and many other countries since ages.

Both Assam and certified Darjeeling tea are exported to exported to UK and many other countries. The finest premium blends are not for mass consumption cost prohibiting. But small quantities are added to create fine brands for mass consumption.    

Both teas are tealicious just buy, brew and enjoy.  

Teaplomacy - Unite & Create Bonds

One of the most desired and consumed hot beverage has a magnetic charm as well. The ritual gives rises to a level of teaplomacy that enlivens and seals relationships. The process  begins with the making of chai and the wait that creates an ambiance of serenity, generates positive thoughts and vibes. This is the magic of chai as the host or the stall owner get busy brewing.     

Whence on invite there is always an air of expectancy thanks to multiple styles of brewing and mind boggling variants. Once I was surprised by cinnamon tea whence on tour. The hosts was marveling at his wife's recipe of the hot beverage, it brought my tongue tingling and the I was not disappointed.  In spite of the distance the urge is strong for another rendezvous.  

Opening Wagh Bakri Tea Lounge

Our Prime Minister always invites International Guests PMs and Presidents on a meet where the brew is the focal point. Just pour a cup for the guest and see how the magic happens. It is one of the most appeasing gesture some what similar to making a drink for a fellow. 

Not only high profile meetings it is a casual get together between friends and relatives that the hot beverage enlivens. Chai offers an event a purpose and a memorable one at that. Hence learn to brew a perfect concoction and you will be successful at making relations and cementing bonds. 

It is the chemistry that unfolds as aroma fills your nostrils and the taste that tingles your taste buds. The energizing tealicious drink never fails to deliver.    

To Chalo Chai Ho Jaye!           

Going Overboard - Hot Beverage Consumption

Though tea and coffee are wonder brews consuming beyond the limit can be harmful. The hot beverages come along with plethora of health benefits. This accrues when the consumption is under the recommended limitation. 

Tea does not contain caffeine in the same quantity as coffee does hence its consumption is advisable up to four and five cups a day. Consumption greater than this may cause loss of sleep, acidity and possible increase in heart beat. Higher levels of bad cholesterol results from drinking unfiltered coffee in excess.    

Tea is a winner as far as beneficial aspect are concerned thanks to it variants and less quantity of caffeine. But this does not mean one should consume it in excess.  Heavy caffeine consumption is linked to many ailments in our body.  

As per reports coffee contains as much as 180 mg of caffeine whilst in the other it is up to 70 mg maximum. Hence the preference is obvious. The consumption of coffee is more per person as compered to tea making the latter a better choice in obtaining the health benefits.

   

The Clash of Beverages - Tea or Coffee

The hot beverages are the most consumed in the World. The origin of coffee is said to have taken place in the Islamic World namely Ethiopia. From hear the popularity is said to have spread to nearby Kenya & Sudan.  Although the earliest evidence points to 15th Century the brew must have been popular ages back.

It was trade in the 16th Century that brought the hot beverage to Europe.But large scale popularity is attributed to the 19th Century in Ethiopia.  

Coffea Arabica  a tree now cultivated in many parts of the World yields the brew through its seeds after roasting. The brew was discovered to energize the whole system on consumption apart from delivering a captivation aroma.  Health benefits of drinking coffee

are slowly emerging thanks to research. It is attributed to prevent Diabetic II, liver cirrosis and  prevent some types of cancer. But the most vital aspect of the beverage is its instant energizing effect.  

Tea

Tea Camellia Sinensis on commercial scale originated in China and then spread to India. Where the British rulers encouraged its production in the gardens of Assam and Darjeeling.  The leaf especially the green leaf accords tremendous health benefits attributed to antioxidants and many other chemicals. 

Research is where the comparison catapults into complete derailment. The inconclusive aspect of findings point more towards the green tea but is equally impressive about coffee.   

In coffee drinking sphere tea is making a fast intrusion especially the green variant. More research is proving many claims of drinking tea are proving to be right. Another advantage is addition of health benefitting spices and essentials that is not possible in the case of coffee. 

Hence tea is receiving large number of followers. This is further augmented by the introduction of iced tea and its innovative packaging in smart bottles. The biggest boost the consumption of this wonder brew is its amazing aroma and taste. 

   

Amazing World of Cocktails & Teas

For large number of tea drinkers the leaf is limited to black and green ones. For many it is extended to Oolong or white leaf. As I am discovering the World of tea is like an expanding Universe. The more you delve into it the more you fathom.      

For a regular tea drinker some of the cocktail combinations appear bizarre. But nevertheless the popularity can easily be gauged hence these drinks deserve a try. Most of the recipes are handiwork of expert chefs hence a wait is required till the products percolate down as household recipes, or in cans or bottles.     

Here are some of the products used in various cocktail recipes. 

Jasmine Green Tea

Black Forest Berry Herbal Tea 

Rooibos Tea or Red Bush Tea

English Breakfast Tea (Blend) 

 Earl Grey Tea (Bergamot) (Blend) 

Chamomile Tea (Herbal)

 Most of the products or herbal concoctions are as a result of mix with alcohol like Bourbon, Vodka and Rum.