Tea as a beverage intrigued be intermittently from time to time. Particularly since moving to Calcutta(Yes, that's what we'll be calling it here).
Amongst a barrage of changes i experienced setting into a new city/culture with an impressionable mind, food habits were no less a revulsion-as-a-first-response.
Roti was a staple food for me past 2 decades & suddenly it was nowhere to be found! Veg food felt no less than an oxymoron.
Then, there was this variant of tea which had a blink-&-you-miss relationship with milk.
Took me a while, to be able to appreciate that variant(entire credit to another charming friend of mine, who makes the best tea. Period). The change didn't come easy.
Now, the concepts/versions introduced were sophisticated & thoughtful. Considerations included:
+ weather
+ time of day
+ pre vs post meal
+ ctc vs leaf tea
+ condiments: Even ginger was given a consideration & not a default anymore
+...
If that wasn't enough, the concept of para-adda! This medley of influences from this innocuous looking beverage made me wonder if it was no less than a cult.(the better kind i.e. inclusive rather than divisive)
Further next, got introduced to an Avadhi variant of dum-chai.
And BTW each school took 'strong'-exception to the other!(jibes included: tea w/o milk was next to blasphemy while the other called milk-based tea with not-so-complementary-regional-attribution remark :)
Still, there was a Marathi twist that was yet to be stumbled upon with Ginger grated & not mashed to release the flavor better.
<Post incomplete - TBC...>
Amongst a barrage of changes i experienced setting into a new city/culture with an impressionable mind, food habits were no less a revulsion-as-a-first-response.
Roti was a staple food for me past 2 decades & suddenly it was nowhere to be found! Veg food felt no less than an oxymoron.
Then, there was this variant of tea which had a blink-&-you-miss relationship with milk.
Took me a while, to be able to appreciate that variant(entire credit to another charming friend of mine, who makes the best tea. Period). The change didn't come easy.
Now, the concepts/versions introduced were sophisticated & thoughtful. Considerations included:
+ weather
+ time of day
+ pre vs post meal
+ ctc vs leaf tea
+ condiments: Even ginger was given a consideration & not a default anymore
+...
If that wasn't enough, the concept of para-adda! This medley of influences from this innocuous looking beverage made me wonder if it was no less than a cult.(the better kind i.e. inclusive rather than divisive)
Further next, got introduced to an Avadhi variant of dum-chai.
And BTW each school took 'strong'-exception to the other!(jibes included: tea w/o milk was next to blasphemy while the other called milk-based tea with not-so-complementary-regional-attribution remark :)
Still, there was a Marathi twist that was yet to be stumbled upon with Ginger grated & not mashed to release the flavor better.
<Post incomplete - TBC...>
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