This year it has been a long summer and we waited for the temperature to plunge lower to comfortable levels for a very long time but the winter kept evading us. Almost the whole of October passed and we still waited for the first nip in the air and a sip of adrak wali chai or a nice Tulsi infused tea.
I did enjoy my Ginger chai and Tulsi infused Darjeeling sometimes but the warmth of the tea was not as much comforting as it usually is during October, we even had our iced teas many a times this month. Thankfully last week has been a pleasant change and chai has become a bit more pleasurable. Just a little bit because winter still seems to be shy. You know I love my chai and the orthodox teas a lot. I will talk about ginger chai (adrak wali chai) later, let's talk about the orthodox teas for now.
Orthodox tea is just tea, water at the right temperature suited for you, the right brewing time and nothing else. But there a lot brewing between these parameters of right temperature and the right brewing time, the cup of tea that you hold in your hands after brewing it correctly is a comfort few things can bring. And yes you need to know what tea suits your temperament and requirement. Or if you need a tea and herb infusion for you.
Green tea and Lavender or some rose too? Or a hint of Chamomile and Lemon balm? Hint of Peaches in your tea? What about Rooibos orange?
Green tea and Lavender or some rose too? Or a hint of Chamomile and Lemon balm? Hint of Peaches in your tea? What about Rooibos orange?
I keep meeting many tea enthusiasts and all of them seem to be choosing their herbs carefully to infuse into their teas. There seems to be a magical connection between the personalities and the herbs and the way they chose their herb infused teas, how they brew it and then take a deep breath while sipping, eyes closed almost always. One gets completely drawn into the moment when the fresh brew brings a sense of calm, the first sip of a well made tea is magical.
I had been thinking and planning more around teas as few months ago I was asked to curate a tea and poetry session for the recently concluded Kumaon Literature Festival (KLF). This tea and poetry session was planned to be held in the oak forest, a small climb up the Te Aroha, venue of the KLF and we wanted some discussions on teas, their connect with literature and poetry and poetry recital by some eminent poets. The idea of teas and poetry in the Oak forest kept us warm when we were planning the nitty-gritty of this event.
I have known Mr Vikram Mittal for some time and recognize him as one of the most knowledgeable people regarding teas. So he was roped in to make us all experience great teas in a rustic set up along with poetry being recited in good measure. We had planned a few cookies and trail mix pairing with the teas too, and since it was an outdoor rustic setting we chose to serve the cookies and trail mixes in reed baskets I sourced from Manipur Emporium.
Here is Mr. Mittal arranging the teas to be served that day and explaining about the teas. We served seven types of teas and each tea was brewed several times over. Everyone loved the teas much to our pleasure.
In the last moment we decided to do this tea and poetry session around the camp fire place at Te Aroha and not in the Oak forest as many poets did not want to hike to the forest.
Ms Abha Ayengar moderated the poetry reading and Mr Mittal kept introducing teas in between, the venue was swamped with tea and poetry lovers and I was the one who ended up brewing loads of teas one after the other. It was a wonderful sunset after a beautiful cloud formation in the sky. A classic Cirrocumulus stratiformis type of cloud that turned golden as the sun set, I was brewing teas of all hues at that time and kept craving for a break to click a picture.
Here is the rustic arrangement of cookies, Lavender and lime, candied orange cookies, ginger cookies and a trail mix, everything just vanished within a span of about 40 minutes. The cookies were baked by Shikha Sachdev who runs Cocoka, the recipes were mine. I had done the trail mixes myself.
We had initially planned for a quite systematic serving of teas and snacks but it got so crowded that we decided to set up 3 such snack stations.
The most popular tea of the day was Rhododendron and Holy basil infusion. We had blended two types of Holy basil in this one and the result was no less than magic. I had to brew this one several times over.
The second most popular blend was Earl Grey floral, so aromatic and warming that most people took second and third helpings. It was a cold evening in the mountains and tea helped in the outdoors.
Kahva was also liked a lot with it's mild spiced notes suited for the weather. Come winter I depend a lot on Kahva as well. I love the way Kashmiris have come up with a blend of cinnamon and green cardamom along with a hint of saffron. I generally let a bruised almond boil with the water before brewing tea for Kahva (Quahva) but he Kahmiris sprinkle coarse powder of almonds to their Kahva.
Our all time favourite is Darjeeling. Without milk mostly but sometime with a dash of milk too.
Now the good thing is that Mittal Teas is giving away two (2) gift packs of a personalised selection of teas to the readers of this blog. All you have to do is tell us about your favourite herbs and spices, add some flowers too to the list and we will decide what teas you would like.
We will choose 2 reader comments on this post so start commenting if you love good quality teas. I am sure we will be able to find a couple of tea blends you appreciate.
You need to have an Indian address to win this Diwali Giveaway of a personalised tea hamper.
So tell me about you favourite flowers, spices and herbs and enter a chance to win this give away.
Here is Mr. Mittal arranging the teas to be served that day and explaining about the teas. We served seven types of teas and each tea was brewed several times over. Everyone loved the teas much to our pleasure.
In the last moment we decided to do this tea and poetry session around the camp fire place at Te Aroha and not in the Oak forest as many poets did not want to hike to the forest.
Ms Abha Ayengar moderated the poetry reading and Mr Mittal kept introducing teas in between, the venue was swamped with tea and poetry lovers and I was the one who ended up brewing loads of teas one after the other. It was a wonderful sunset after a beautiful cloud formation in the sky. A classic Cirrocumulus stratiformis type of cloud that turned golden as the sun set, I was brewing teas of all hues at that time and kept craving for a break to click a picture.
Here is the rustic arrangement of cookies, Lavender and lime, candied orange cookies, ginger cookies and a trail mix, everything just vanished within a span of about 40 minutes. The cookies were baked by Shikha Sachdev who runs Cocoka, the recipes were mine. I had done the trail mixes myself.
We had initially planned for a quite systematic serving of teas and snacks but it got so crowded that we decided to set up 3 such snack stations.
The most popular tea of the day was Rhododendron and Holy basil infusion. We had blended two types of Holy basil in this one and the result was no less than magic. I had to brew this one several times over.
The second most popular blend was Earl Grey floral, so aromatic and warming that most people took second and third helpings. It was a cold evening in the mountains and tea helped in the outdoors.
Kahva was also liked a lot with it's mild spiced notes suited for the weather. Come winter I depend a lot on Kahva as well. I love the way Kashmiris have come up with a blend of cinnamon and green cardamom along with a hint of saffron. I generally let a bruised almond boil with the water before brewing tea for Kahva (Quahva) but he Kahmiris sprinkle coarse powder of almonds to their Kahva.
Our all time favourite is Darjeeling. Without milk mostly but sometime with a dash of milk too.
Now the good thing is that Mittal Teas is giving away two (2) gift packs of a personalised selection of teas to the readers of this blog. All you have to do is tell us about your favourite herbs and spices, add some flowers too to the list and we will decide what teas you would like.
We will choose 2 reader comments on this post so start commenting if you love good quality teas. I am sure we will be able to find a couple of tea blends you appreciate.
You need to have an Indian address to win this Diwali Giveaway of a personalised tea hamper.
So tell me about you favourite flowers, spices and herbs and enter a chance to win this give away.
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