Tea: Tourism & Assam

The wonder brew flourishes at no plain spaces it does so at amazing wonderlands. Tea in India grows in one of the most picturesque destinations that dazzle visitors expecting just plain fields laden with plantations.   

Assam is no less as beautiful as Darjeeling is. It is the largest producer of black leaf in the country. Popular all over the world specially in India the flavor is reminiscent of  malt flavor with dusky red color. The color is imparted whence the brew is brought to a boil. The chai wallahs are known to repeatedly boil the brew in order to extract the bitter malt flavor and a dark liquor.  

Garden

Assam grows premium and ordinary leaf the latter for mass consumption.None is less flavored than the order. The latter finds use on the streets as broken leaf and dust.   

Tea Plant

A visit to Assam gardens is an enthralling experience especially whence you learn how the leaf is cultivated and processed. Finest leaf is cultivated in these plantations some of which are as old as whence the production started in India.

Dodebetta View

 

There are many tour operators organizing visits to regions like Jorhat and Dibrugarh. Apart from sightseeing one visits the top gardens most of them built in colonial style. The age of customs and traditions that still govern life at tea gardens is worth knowing.     

Assam is home to many wilderness areas like Manas and Kaziranga. The tiger reserves and sanctuaries are home to many endemic species. Kaziranga is the best place to see one horned rhinoceros while Manas is home to the Golden Langur and Hoolock Gibbon.  

Tea Cocktails - Changing Trends

The wonderful hot beverage that cheers millions of souls everyday is undergoing a paradigm shift. The brew served hot in a traditional manner is breaking all barriers of stagnating traditions. It may seem that breaking away from the tradition is a sacrilege, but this wonderful leaf has done it without a sword being raised. All for the whiff of fresh air, tangy flavor and sensational aroma thanks to the new admixture created by the innovative connoisseurs and foodies.  

There are no extremists raising guns and swords to bloody the innovators guts. Tea is being consumed as cocktails, iced, bottled and masala all over the World. Wait! It is still being consumed like that way it was since centuries ago but things are changing and fast.   

Cocktails are maddening mixture of fruits and alcohol and the recipe can lead to both hot or icy cold beverage.  

The hot cocktails are enticing during the cold season and rainy days. They a are created by warming the water as usual and adding the leaf and other ingredients. 

Some of the popular names are:
 

• Masala Chai
•  
• Hot & Toddy 
•  
• Blueberry Tea  
• 
  
• Autumn Chai Sizzle

 Many a type of punches have been created. Most of these cocktails are non alcoholic meant for summers and warm weather. 

Th iced tea or mocktails are usually made as warm tea chilled and then the ingredients are added to it. Iced Brews are also sold at tea lounges along with snacks. They are also sold in cans and bottles not forgetting the soda machine dispensers. 

Some of the popular drinks are:

• Bourbon Tea
• 
  
• Cherry Bitch 
• 
  
• Bee Tea
• 
  
• Derby Tea
•  
• Ginger Tea 

Innovation is completely going to change the teas of the future and how we consume it. Be prepared.  

Good Morning The Herb Way

What a better way to start one's morning then to do it the herbal way. I love my green tea and mix some black in the brew as well. To fight diabetes I add a mix of cinnamon and cardamom in the brew.  

Health is wealth and the green brew delivers just that. Fond of ubiquitous black tea I developed taste for the green variety whence I bought the Wagh Bakri green brand. Ever since I am hooked to this magnificent leaf that carries so many beneficial compounds with it. 

For extra flavor one can add the Darjeeling leaf in the mix. This will jack up the price but nevertheless it will add miles to the flavor. 

The morning brew once prepared is then consumed in two three cup fulls. The exhausted leaves are then left to steep till the time I brew the cup again. This assures gain of all the healthy chemicals along with economy in use. Try it you will not be disappointed. 

One can add many times of herbs, oils, powdered extracts as per the health benefit one desires. Most of the additives have medicinal and curative properties.   

So next time you brew a sizzling hot beverage add some muscle into it!

       

Tea: Tourism and About Darjeeling

Indian loves tea something they call "chai". Presumably a Chinese word and rightly so since many of the finest strains of tea has been imported in India. This does not mean that all our blends comprise of Chinese strain the plant flourished in North East India especially in Assam and was consumed like anywhere else in those days as a medicine.  

Unmindful or origin chai is indispensable in India day, noon, evening, mid night, predawn and early morning the cycle is never ending. That is not all birthdays, engagements, weddings, all parties, guest entertainment, business partners and clients, ceremonies, faltu time, kaamka time, bus sab kuch chai chahiye. 

In India it is Chai! Chai! & Chai!  

So whats new about this? 

Well as you seek God you should seek the truth about tea though not equal to God it is second to none on Earth. Hence the wiser ones are on to Tea Tourism. This simply means searching for the Gates to Heaven well not Haridwar but Darjeeling and more....  

The British had a great competitive spirit and to beat the Chinese monopoly they entered India. Well with tea plants from China and the processing secrets. They did everything to make tea plantation a huge success in India. The initial destinations were preferred to be Assam and Darjeeling in West Bengal both states of India.    

Darjeeling: Known as Queen of Hills is the country's most popular hill resort. It is also popular for the toy train that ferries tourists and locals alike. The beautiful holiday destination offers amazing sightseeing with Himalayas soaring in the backdrop. The cool climes has also given rise to a large number of verdant tea plantations. 

The Darjeeling Tea grown in these gardens is one of the most aromatic and musky. The connoisseurs know this fact but so does the common man. The price is high but if you love Darjeeling blends it does not matter. Popular all over the World this exotic blend is also popular as a gift item usually present in a basket.

Amongst the verdant hills of Darjeeling you visit the numerous gardens with amazing spread and unique produce. This is the best place spend one's holiday amidst cheers from a cup of chai.

Kanchenjunga looms large with its snow covered peaks and to add to the hillside beauty are numerous hills covered with grassy meadows and forests. Exploration takes place around the villages, monasteries and numerous gardens.      

The tour of picturesque destination is enhanced by the visit to the tea estates and the life prevailing there.

Of Tasters & Blenders

The art of discovering fine qualities of tea leaves and then blending the is the job of tasters. Hence both blend into one but a taster may not necessarily be a blender since one could be a connoisseur.    

Most of the tasters have started their carriers with major companies like Lipton, Tetley Tata, Wagh Bakri, Godrej, Dilmah, Harada to name a few.  After having years of tasting various types of leaves from major gardens of the World many of them have moved into selling gourmet brands of their own. Well developed sensory organs assist the masters on road to success.

Big companies like Wagh Bakri have their own master blenders besides the owners being themselves expert at the task. Old companies are manned by experts that have done the job themselves. The big corporates have employees which are very good at the task. Blending is done using various kinds of leaves depending upon the strategy of the processors intended for targeted audience.

A Cup That Cheers

Tea Plucking

Tea Plant

Tea Garden

Many of the experts act a jury at Golden Leaf Awards apart from many other events that highlight the World's finest hot beverages. The consumption of this hot beverage is growing day by day not only green leaf for its health benefit but largely that of black leaf for its fantastic taste and flavor.  
 

Tea Lounge - A New Concept Gaining Popularity

Environment Day Celebrated at WB Tea Lounge

Yummys at WB TL

Inauguration Photos

Wagh Bakri Tea Lounge Interiors

Girls Gathering at WB TL

WB TL

The Directors & Celebrity

High Tea Time

Welcome to WB TL

Before Wagh Bakri Tea Company started its first tea lounge in Mumbai there were none. Such sit in place  was unheard of. Gradually tea lounges came about in New Delhi and Ahmedabad. The company plans to have a chain of these lounges that are fast becoming a gathering place for the elite of the town. 

Much like Indian Coffee Houses the places differ in offering a more posh and hush hush ambiance. The old infrastructure of  ICF with its unique charm is not there nevertheless the TLs offer fantastic meeting grounds over sizzling hot cup of Wagh Bakri Teas as well Ice Tea and a vast array of snacks.  

The establishments could be found in many places in the World on lines of tea rooms. Being few in number these were closeted and frequented only by hangers on and connoisseurs.  

These urban hangouts are not only for cheers they are excellent event venues, gathering and party  places. They are eatery of sorts. The places offer exotic WB teas apart from the usual fare.   

Tea & Me - Interesting Snacks to Go Along With

Bhel Puri By Nandita Amin

Chaat By Nandita Amin

Though tea is routinely consumed in India by a large populace few enjoy snacking with it the way it should be. Most of the time the beverage is just gushed down the phagus line to deliver. I think we have an interesting line of snacks that can make the routine consumption of tea into a ritualistic fervor and a gastronomic delight. 

Poha Jelebi By Rashi

Some of the common snacks in the country are the samosa, bhajiyas, pakoras and chevda. The imagination hardly runs beyond these commoners. Hence I am on a spurge of discovery as to what repertoire of finger foods will offer a creative binge to tea time.     

I remember how much we used to relish Gujarati Bhakri with Fresh White Butter in our younger days. The cook is no more and the butter has turned yellow.   

My proclivity is definitely towards Gujju snacks being one myself. Hence Fadfa Jalebi is another good accompaniment available mostly in Gujarati towns but it is slowly creeping elsewhere thanks to migratory Gujju populace. I once had cabbage pakoras a specialty of a border township at Nepal border in Lakhimpur Kehri in UP not forgetting Mirchi Pakoras near Sitapur which delivered no biting hot singe but a gently flavor. 

Dhokras and Khakras are very popular all over India and I love them along with tea. Dry Phulkis are my recent favorite thanks to innovation at Courtyard House in Kanha. The mashed potatoes, boiled chick peas and spices are added inside with topping of tomato sauce. All this to avoid water for Firangees. This also goes down well with sun downers. 

Bhel Puri and Pani Puri, infact all chaat items do not go well with at all. Sweet based snacks do not gel well not at least for real tea drinkers. One exception is Jelebi which by necessity is a breakfast item.

Simple bread and butter or cheese seandwich goes well with black tea but loaded sandwiches, cutlets and aloo parathe uh! oh!

Snacks with Subtle Salty Flavor are ideal as tea accompaniment.

Chai Samosa

Dhokla by Nandita Amin

Ginger Tea

Global Tea Comsumption

Wagh Bakri Tea Lounge Mumbai

Iced Mint Tea

Iced Tea

Though tea consumption is rising fast globally yet it rates as poor second whence compared to coffee. Coffee is still the preferred mode of drink but in countries like India, China, Sri Lanka which are major producing countries per capita consumption is very high.  

There are more than 120 countries where the hot beverage is consumed. The taste for the hot brew is rising fast keeping in the the appealing flavors as well as the health benefits.  In India consumption became a lifestyle after massive campaigns during the British Rule. In order to compete with the Chinese cultivation seeds and technology were both introduced from China.

Besides the countries mentioned a lot of tea is consumed in Britain. The brew also finds patrons in Europe and North America. With innovations in packing as well as development of iced and bottled tea  the trend in coffee drinking countries is changing fast. More and more people are attracted to these products. Similarly  the rising popularity of green leaf is also contributing to the growth.

Some of the main buying markets are Russia, USA, Canada, Pakistan, Morocco, Egypt, Iran and UK. In countries like USA the maximum consumption is that of iced tea now sold in bottles and vending machines.

Per Capita consumption patterns of tea drinking countries.

Turkey 6 + Kg 

Morocco 4 + Kg 

Ireland  3 + Kg

Mauritania 3 + Kg

United Kingdom 2 + Kg

Though green tea consumption is increasingly attracting coffee drinkers it is the black tea that finds phenomenally large number of tea lovers.  

The Jewel in The Crown - Tea

Throughout the centuries the wonderland India was the target of many civilizations. The invaders and plunderers were the first to arrive and arrive they did relentlessly. The Greeks, Mongols, Arabs were the invaders who did not stay put but wrecked havoc on a populace that had long ago forgone militancy. The campaigns were brutal besides imposing ideological alterations vehemently as proselytizers. 

The land of rivers, forests and riches was a cynosure of many global entities. A branch of Moghuls settled permanently and rejoiced in conquest that was both enriching and at times brutal. The conquest was both overpowering and imposing. They brought about an enrichment by admixture of foreign culture in terms of lifestyle and architecture and religious pursuits but not more. 

The British set about a paradigm change as rulers wherever they went including in the Jewel in Crown. The junta paid a price through voracious economic exploitation, famine and subvert domination. But the then superior civilization in terms of technology and innovations did the populace a lot of good as well. They brought in infrastructure, organized and systemic management techniques - politically and administratively - and reforms all of these  still persist in contemporary era. 

The masters had caught on to tea by 1700 as a beverage. This was until then a  medicine in the cabinet. The popularity of the beverage brought into the fore play the dynamics of economics. To counter highly priced leaf from China efforts were made to cultivate the leaf in India.      

About 1800 Governor General William Bentinjck appointed a committee to cultivate the leaf in India. But in the absence of closely guarded Chinese cultivation technique the initial foray was a failure. Experimentation were than carried out in Assam with the result the Indian State is one of the leading producer.  

Subsequently the Nation became a quality tea producer and the black leaf  became popular in England and Australia.    

Thomas Lipton a Scot by Birth began purchasing the leaf in bulk in order to market it at a cheaper rate the the Chinese leaf. Today Lipton is a global brand. Though the production saga was phenomenal the locals were still far away for this wonder beverage and that is what the preceding two blog entries are about.

are all about.

The Tea Campaigns

The tea campaign by the Association continued in India unabated. The campaign was yet to enter Indian homes especially the housewife.  To make the beverage popular in households women were the key but they could be tempted by the stall large and big keeping the conservative attitudes in mind.

The strategy to entice this elite clientele used was simple. Visit Indian homes and train the better halves to make the brew.  Street by street the brew was popularized in the homes. Towns big and small were all targeted with effective fervor. The  success was earmarked by invitations that the campaigners received from homes for demonstrations. But the campaign in the villages was most successful in the first half of the 1900.      

The Indian army too was targeted apart from villages and the tea consciousness came about rapidly.  Such was the success of these campaigns that the consumption became not only a household phenomenon it also became institutionalized.  

This must have the first ever marketing campaign in such mass scale that initiated a habit so strong that it has become a phenomenon.