An Exploration Of Various Kinds Of Indian Teas And Their Histories

A Sip in Time by Pallavi Nigam Sahay can be the perfect companion for teatime tete-a-tetes for home chefs and foodies alike. An excerpt:

On a cold winter morning in October 2018, I stood on the bank of the River Brahmaputra in Guwahati, and was overcome by the same sense of curiosity that I had felt while exploring the food of Italy during a culinary course there. For someone who is as passionate about tea as I am, the solitude of tea estates feels like a carefully preserved slice of history; the tough, steep terrains of tea tree covered mountains narrates the story of the stubborn human spirit, the dense air seems to resonate with cheerful songs and giggles of those beautiful people who, for generations, have devoted their love and care to these pointy little leaves. A sense of excitement coursed through me, and I was sure that I was about to embark upon a beautiful journey in my tea trails across India.

This story begins with my discovery of black tea in 2011, in that serendipitous moment when I sipped it for the first time. It was the morning after my wedding, and as I joined my parents-in-law for breakfast, they asked what I would like to drink. Feeling a bit shy around my new family, I replied, ‘I will have whatever you are drinking.’ They were sipping on some Darjeeling first flush and for me, it was love at first sip. From the refreshing, crisp aroma which hit my nose as soon as my mother-in-law poured me a cup to the peachy floral flavours that suffused

my senses as I took my first sip and ate the sweet biscuits that complemented its flavours, I was a convert.

Until this point, I had always been a masala chai girl. The typically Indian brew had energized me, calmed me, helped me rejoice in daily triumphs and celebrated my most special moments till I stayed with my parents. Growing up, in the company of both family and friends, we

laughed, we gossiped, and we argued around countless cups of chai. In my marital home, this place is occupied by Darjeeling tea. Hardly an hour goes by without my parents-in-law reaching for a cup of this delicate tea. ‘It will take time to brew, Pallavi,’ Papa, my father-in-law,

tells me each time I prepare him a cup of tea. And over the years, whether I am making tea and or am between things, waiting for good news or positive results, that sentiment echoes in my mind and strengthens my faith in the fact that the longer things take to brew, the better

their flavours – just like a cup of Darjeeling tea.

Today’s world, driven by information technology and social media, keeps us immensely busy, demanding all of our time and attention. In this scenario, tea has become a powerful word as it does not simply manifest a beverage – rather, it manifests a state of calm and peace. With

each sip, we find ourselves closer to the deep meditative rhythms of nature in which the tea leaves were born. With every sip that we enjoy in the present, we partake of the past, of those moments when the leaves were plucked, and it is this rejuvenating flavour that deepens our

connection with nature in an increasingly virtual world. I believe that it is this sense of being one with nature which makes us fall in love with tea even more deeply.

Over the years, my love for tea has grown to consuming a minimum of seven cups a day. My day starts on the strong, uplifting note of Assam tea and by afternoon, I find myself reaching out for the gentle comfort of Darjeeling tea. By evening, and especially the late evening and night, I want to lose myself in the soothing embrace of a Munnar white or rose tea.

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Ma and Papa (my parents-in-law) love sweet snacks like biscuits or cookies with their tea, and I love baking. But since my husband Kunal loves everything chocolate, I mostly baked with chocolate. I found that it never paired well with tea. Now, after years of cooking and baking

with chocolate, I have come to understand that it is in the inherent nature of chocolate to overpower every other flavour. But at that point, disappointed with chocolate and at the risk of disappointing Kunal, for once, I pursued a personal pleasure and baked a soft, crumbly, lemon

cake one evening, and it synchronized beautifully with the delicate flavours of tea. Since then, I started to understand and respect tea’s affinity for unpretentiously sweet, creamy food. It soon became a hobby to plan a menu to go with tea for guests, and there were many hits

and a few misses as well. While a successful pairing made me feel confident, a failed one left me curious about the secrets flavours each tea was still hiding. And knowing that tea was cultivated and processed just few states east from where I was, I wanted to visit those towns

and taste tea on its native ground.

Excepted with permission from A Sip in Time by Pallavi Nigam Sahay.

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