The Tea I got completely wrong about
Are we getting our tea right?
It is festive time at Ahmedabad and early this morning Ola and Uber both ditched me. My wife had to drop me halfway and the Rikshaw guy as usual overcharged me. Just got into SpiceJet SG 511 to Hyderabad. Over the next two hours I will be jotting how a trip to Darjeeling changed my knowledge of tea for ever. I have been a tea drinker for all my life and considered myself as a tea connoisseur till I reached Darjeeling late last month. In just one hour I realised how hollow I was in terms of Tea culture.
Even before I reached Nathmulls store at Chowrasta at the heart of Darjeeling, I had a lot of lessons wherever I went to — especially at homes of local — about Darjeeling Tea.
Whatever left, I got a full free tutorial from the Nathmulls’ Madhav Sarda while I was buying the tea. So basically what I am describing here is based on what I heard from various sources during my trip and some from my previous experience of travelling like hell.
The Burnt Tea: In Gujarat, where I stay, tea is nothing short of a Sugar Syrup. The dispensation once used to be in those dirty cups which got never washed except for a dip in a dirty water. We called it psychological wash. If you go to rural areas, (just 20 kms out of any city), tea shop owners kept separate cups for Dalits. These cups had to be washed separately and stored separately. Once during an official tour through Dhandhuka, I decided to take this head on. So when a Dalit came to have his tea, I offered my tea to him much to the dismay of the tea shop owner. The guy to whom I offered tea meant for me was also bewildered but hesitantly took from me. I asked for the cup kept separately for them to be used for me. The tea shop owner first refused but then obliged. I thought for a while what I did was nothing short of a revolution. I felt I had the power to remove untouchability what many stalwarts could not. While sipping the tea I looked at the Dalit guy but his body language had nothing to boast about the history I was about to create. So once we finished the tea, I looked at the tea shop owner as if I won Independence for India. He was cool. He took both our cups and put it among the Dalit cups. All the revolutionary sweeping changes that I had dreamt for a couple of minutes came crashing down. I am sure this practice is still on in many parts of interior Gujarat. These cups were replaced by plastic cups and subsequently when plastic got banned, by paper cups. The cups are so small that you will mistake it as a holder for some eye drops. The milk and tea together are heated again and again to such a level that it becomes toxic. But across Gujarat this is the norm and so it has become a habit for the people now. I have left this tea for long.
The Southern Tea: When I am in southern states, roadside tea vendors are my favourite stops while driving. Preparation of tea here is completely different from north India. I always felt North India do not have an iota of how to serve fresh tea to its people. The South Indian tea is so fresh and customisable that each cup(or glass) of tea tastes different because they are made different. Milk, hot water, tea, Sugar are all kept separately in a customisable vessel. So once you order a tea — say with a ‘kadak’ or strong one with less Sugar, the process begins. First the glass is washed in boiling hot water removing all bacteria and dirt. Boiling black tea is poured into the glass, milk is added along with sugar and then the traditional meter long pouring from one glass to another. This is far fresh and better tea than any tea available anywhere.
Tea Bags: When you are in a hotel, the first thing most people do when they wake up is to boil water and use the Tea Bags and have the first sip even before you brush. I was no different. But I realised in Darjeeling that this tea is nothing but dust and fanning. These waste materials were thrown away before the invention of foil packaging. The clever marketing of these waste makes them valuable. These tea bags contain no nutritional value, freshness nor quality. But these foil packaged waste are so expensive that you will think twice before believing me. If you go to any tea garden in the north east you will be appalled by the wages they get. Rs 150 per day is nothing but complete exploitation of labour. The justification is that they get lodging and some odd benefits like a sack of rice etc. I am sure the labour can be a little higher considering the companies are now selling even the waste.
Classification: Tea has different varieties. You will be surprised to see white tea. Tea with no colour but with the same taste. Then there is Black and then Green. Most of these tea is classified from the region they come from. So soil and the atmosphere is the most important part that plays in the taste of tea. If you travel in international airlines you will see Cylone tea in the menu — you will definitely find in Qatar Airways — which is the Sri Lankan tea. Tea is mostly produced in India, Sri Lanka and the Indian side of Bangladesh and then in China. There are also tea varieties which are scented during processing which you can see Earl Grey etc. All these I knew but when I was in Nathmulls I saw something like First Flush and Second Flush. So Mr. Madhav Sarda, son of Late Nandlall Sarda and grandson of the late Nathmull Sarda, the tea legends of this region, volunteered to help me understand the tea in its original form. An alumnus of St. Joseph’s he is a mobile encyclopaedia of Tea and a classified tea taster, he is also a fluent English speaker. So next time you are in Darjeeling ensure you are at this place.
Flushes: Flush is nothing but the month of a particular year when the tea leaves are plucked. While plucking tea it is very important to see which time of the year and also the climate of that particular time. First flush is the first plucking of a plant’s harvest season. These leaves are tender and gives you the fresh taste and aroma in your cup. This is the most expensive ones. You will get additional plucking but then the climate and the seasonal characteristics changes and so will the taste. Only authentic tea tasters will be able to differentiate these tastes. For us everything will be the same. In most shops selling authentic tea, you will find first and second flush tea along with the name of the estate that it has come from. Here at Nathmulls it is a thumb rule.
Darjeeling Tea: First of all Darjeeling tea is to be enjoyed in its most pure form. Simmer water and put a few Tea leaves (not on the stove) and cover it for 5 Minutes. Strain the water to another cup and that is the finest tea for you. Never put milk, Sugar, Honey, Lime or any additives. Yes it will taste a little bitter but that is how Tea should be. Darjeeling tea is special because of its geography. Located between Himalayan ranges it has both the high altitude mountains and deep valleys in plenty. The region is so small that its entire produce is not more than one or two percent of the Tea produced in India. That is why they are very exclusive. It was something new to me to learn that tea depends completely on geography, elevation and climate. I was in Darjeeling at the end of the harvesting season which runs from January end through November. As the new tea bush grows, it is plucked and processed in 24 hours as first second or third flush depending on the harvesting numbers.The first flush and bud of Darjeeling is less oxidised and more green high in flavour and absolutely fresh and less in quantity and is considered as the best tea in the world. No Darjeeling tea will ever be the same and that is why it is exquisite.
So did I change my habit?: Yes, I did. Now I have a kettle at office which simmers at the right time for me to put the tea leaves I bought from Nathmulls and sips the hot flavour of real tea with real aroma. I then chew the tea leaves making my mouth fresh and scented.
Oops… The Pilot has just asked the crew to prepare for landing at Hyderabad. I am heading to a hotel straight and tomorrow morning when I wake up, I have a small container with the Darjeeling leaves to be enjoyed. No more Tea bags.
This is written on board an aircraft on AIWriter and so please excuse typos.
