Friendship and a Cup of Tea

Every time I make a cup of tea, I think of my two best friends Sanaya and Vidhi. And of course, our crazy families. Since my morning cup of tea is how I best start my day, I start my day with amazing memories of a friendship that's been around for 12 years.

Thinking of Sanaya when I make a cup of tea is a no-brainer. After all it was she (and daddy, her father) who got me hooked to tea. I still remember the day like it was yesterday. It was my first trip to Sanaya's bungalow in Matheran in the summer vacation of 2005. We'd taken the 6 kilometer long hike from Dasturi to the bungalow (and it was the first time for me). When we got there, Sanaya and daddy immediately expressed (in their very endearing way) their want (it was more like a need, really) for afternoon tea! While making tea, daddy took out a cup for me too and asked me how I'd like mine. I was a little scared and shy as I told him almost apologetically, "I don't have tea, uncle." You should've seen the way Sanaya and daddy whirled around to get an eyeful of me. It was almost like a Hindi movie, where you'd expect daddy to drop the plate in his hand with a loud crash and cover his ears with both his palms. While that (almost) didn't happen, I did get an exasperated "She DOESN'T drink tea?!" from daddy. Then he and Sanaya with their sense of humour and gentle coaxing convinced me to have a cup of the mint tea with lots of sugar (for my Gujju preferences) and without milk (daddy grudgingly caving into my intolerance of it). And till date, it's the best cup of tea I've ever had. Every time I have mint tea, I always think of this first cup (and their whirling!).

Sanu's and daddy's love for tea can be seen in the way how their days are planned around tea. Like when we'd walked through the market halfway between Dasturi and home, Sanaya had already asked daddy to buy some mint for afternoon tea. Then of course there always was the way Sanu, with her very Parsi sweet tooth, would plan what to buy for tea wherever we'd go. If we were at Colaba Causeway then it was Theobroma's, if we were at Churchgate, it as Gaylords, if we were around college, it was Kyani's or Paris bakery, RTI near Fountain, or Parsi General for their lemon tarts, or if we were near Malabar hills, it was Country of Origin. I have some very interesting memories of shopping with her for 'something sweet for tea'. We'd have all our other shopping in one hand and we'd be balancing the very delicate box of pastries, or biscuits, or tiramisu. And then there were those days we'd try to get into a crowded bus to get home. I believe a lot of my flexibility has come from delivering these 'sweets' for tea in one piece.

There are always the great number of teas we've had around the table at Sanu's home. We'd always time our stays  and visits so we could have tea together. There would be at least 4-5 people. And somehow the 3-chairs-on-one-side sized table (pushed up to the wall on one side) always managed to accommodate all of us comfortably. Uncle, Sanaya or me would put up a large 'tapeli' (there is no other word in my mind for it except the way Sanu and daddy call it tapeli) to boil the water. Then we'd ask the question, "How do you want your tea" and the chaos would unleash! Every one had their preferences, which also changed after hearing someone else's preference, or the choice of tea available, or the food that was there, or just simply because of a change of mind. Then there was the preference of sweetener (sugar or honey) and it's amount, other additions like milk or lemon and so on and so forth. Of course there was convincing people who generally did not drink tea to have some with us. This was accompanied by loud talking, general teasing (it was the boys who usually got it from us girls), demands for food (mostly from me or Sanu because we'd always be hungry), stories of the day, western classical music, discussions of books and movies, sarcastic comments, and hugs and love; all of which were freely available around the table. And when the cups of teas were poured, they simply joined the conversation.

Tea with Vidhi was always a new experience. In her well-travelled panache she'd always have a new tea to share with me. The first one I have to talk about is the one that will always be 'our' tea: the smoky Lapsang Souchong with it's fragrance like the fragrance of the dry earth after the first rains (I know the word for it is petrichor, but somehow it's doesn't sound poetic enough to me). Both of us hoard our stocks of good Lapsang Souchong. And when we are having one of 'those' days where we miss 'us' we'll make ourselves a cup of beautiful Lapsang and comfort ourselves. Then there is her obsession with Russian Caravan. Every time she hears of a rare place in Mumbai that serves Russian Caravan, she HAS to rush there (with me in tow, of course) and have a cup of it. How can I also forget running around with her to stock up on her always depleting stock of Typhoo's Orange Spicer every time she travels back home from Indonesia. And there is always going to be the very local (I swear to you looks like it has all the parts of tea plant including barks in it) Indonesian jasmine tea that she has introduced me to as a Christmas and now she keeps filling my stock of it. She travels, travels well and introduces me to so many new teas that keep my love for it going.

The ritual of making tea at Vidhi's home is always a private thing between the two of us even when the whole family would be there. Vidhu's mom, the quintessential Indian host, would leave her kitchen to us when it came to making tea with an exasperated, "I don't know how to make your tea, you girls make it yourself". It was a symbol of her 'give up' on trying to understand us in general. The last time I went to Vidhu's place was the morning of her engagement. Her aunt and mom were running around making sure the whole family was having tea and breakfast while still getting ready. And then when she saw me (one of her 'vavajhodu' or typhoon in Gujarati), she smiled fondly and told me, "go make it". It will always be the great bond between us that she loves us even though she never will fully understand us.

Tea and Vidhi are so many places. The seating by the window in her home that overlooks the small patch of greenery with the background noise of the school next door. Or the couch at Tea Trails at Viviana Mall where we'd grab a peaceful cup of tea before we'd rush to shop for whatever she needed shop for before she flew out. The window by the bed of my parents' old home or the balcony of our new home with conversations about food and menu planning, baking, Sanskrit literature, Hindi literature, books to read, growing up and travel, silliest board games, missing the three of us. We are at our happiest when we sit with each other with a cup of tea warming our hands and conversations warming our hearts.

Every cup of tea is a walk down memory lane for me, because tea is Sanu and Vidhu. Each cup of tea is a precious memory that makes me smile or sigh. Each cup of tea is friendship in all it's simple ever-presence.

Singapore Food Adventures: Bubble Tea and Iced Tea with Jelly

Bubble teas were my first ever Singapore food adventure.. My to-be sister-in-law (who was my lovely host in Singapore) knows I love tea. So the day I landed and we passed by a bubble tea shop she told me, "You should definitely try this!"

Passionfruit Bubble Tea from Agantea

The best way I could find to describe a bubble tea was to call it a 'tea falooda'. Basically, it is flavoured iced tea, with or without milk, with tapioca pearls, jelly chunks, coconut-y noodles etc. This drink is meant to be sipped and chewed. It fulfills your thirst and sweet food cravings in one glass!

Lemongrass Iced Tea with Lime Jelly at Toastbox Singapore

Another interesting tea beverage I had was the lemongrass iced tea with lime jelly. It's a very simple concept. Sweet and cold lemongrass iced tea is served with thin slices of lime jelly on top. It makes for a refreshing drink for the hot and humid Singapore weather.

When you're in Singapore, switch from your regular cup of coffee to these local tea beverages for a pick-me up!

Where to Find Them? There are bubble tea shops at every corner, mall and metro station in Singapore. I personally preferred agantea for the variety of flavours and milk-less bubble teas. I had the lemongrass iced tea with lime jelly at Toastbox, a franchise selling Kaya toast and more. They have many restaurants around Singapore.

Kulhad Masala Chai

Hot, minty, spicy, and sweet chai that reminds me winters are just around the corner! Pour in a mitti ka kulhad and you can add another level of fun to it's experience!

Kulhad Masala Chai with all the Spices

Kulhad Masala Chai

Ingredients

1/2 cup water
1 tbsp black tea leaves
10 fresh mint leaves
1/4 inch ginger piece crushed
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
2-3 green cardamoms opened but with shells
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp sugar

Method

Heat water with the tea leaves, mint leaves, ginger and the spices till it comes to a boil. Lower the flame, cover the utensil and let it simmer for 5 mins at least. The longer you brew it, the tastier your tea will be.

Add in the milk and put on high flame till the milk comes to a boil. Add in the sugar and stir till the sugar dissolves. Lower the flame again and simmer till the desired colour is achieved. I like my tea strong so I brew it for another 7 to 8 minutes. It requires some time and patience, but the end results are totally worth the wait!

Pour into a kulhad and sip hot!

Kulhad Masala Chai

Tea Week 3: Types of Tea

The story of the journey of the tea impacts its colour and flavour. As I promised in my last post, here are the types of teas based on the steps in the production process.

The Journey and the Type of Tea

Here is a quick infographic on the production process of each of the three types of tea commonly found in India.

Tea Week 2: Tea Production

Having spoken of the Legends about the Discovery of Tea, I will finally come back to what my original topic was for the first post of the Tea Week: Tea Production. How is it that the fresh tea leaf is transformed into the fragrant ones stored in our homes? What gives green tea a unique flavour from black tea or white tea? All of these answers lie in the way these teas are processed. The process of tea production has the following steps:


1. Plucking 

Tea Plucking

Tea plucking happens twice a year during early spring and late spring or early summer. There can be autumn plucking as seen in Darjeeling teas from some estates as the climate permits it. During quality periods like First Flush or Second Flush, a terminal bud and two leaves of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) are plucked whereas during other periods even three to four leaves can be plucked. Plucking can be done by machines but is preferably done by hand when good quality tea is being processed.


2. Withering

Withering the Tea Leaves

The tea leaves begin to wilt as soon as they're plucked. Don't worry it is a desirable thing! It is the beginning to the oxidation process that is going to give tea its flavour. Withering can be done in many ways. Tea leaves can be put under the sun to dry and wither. Another popularly used method is use 'withering troughs' which are about 6 inches deep. Fans are installed to pass air over the green leaf while it withers. This process can take 18-24 hours. This process removes the moisture content of the leaf so that it can withstand the pressure of rolling.


3. Rolling

Rolling the Tea Leaves

Rolling is the process by which the withered tea leaves are shaped into strips either by hand or by a machine with light pressure. This breaks the cells of the tea leaf causing sap and juices to ooze out and add flavour to the tea. The type of rolling depends on the type of tea, for example in oolong tea, the rolled strips of tea are rolled further into spheres or half spheres.


4. Fermentation/ Oxidation

Fermentation of Tea Leaves

Fermentation is the process that allows the leaves to darken to a desired colour. The rolled tea leaves are stored in climate controlled conditions that are carefully controlled. This process causes the enzymes to break down and releases the tannins giving tea its characteristic flavour. This fermentation process can take up to 3 to 4 hours depending on the type of the tea again.




5.  Drying 

Drying to Produce the Final Tea

Drying produces the final tea that is ready for consumption and sale. This process can also be known as firing based on the particular technique used. Generally, the tea leaves are dried using baking. In green tea, drying is the most important step of adding flavour to the tea leaves.






There are many additional steps in the production of tea that are unique to the type of tea produced. These steps give the tea their characteristic colour or flavour. While producing yellow tea sweltering is used to turn the leaves yellow from green whereas some teas are aged further after drying to give them more flavours. Stay tuned for more details on these on my blog post tomorrow which will be about the 'Types of Teas'!





References

http://www.thefragrantleaf.com/black-tea-production

http://www.nathmulltea.com/manufacturing.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_processing



Images 

Tea plucking: http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/India/Northeast/Sikkim/Ravangla/photo1088946.htm

Tea Withering: http://www.bigelowteablog.com/tag/tea-plantation/

Tea Rolling http://www.natureproducts.net/Puer_Tea/Banzang.html

Tea Fermentation http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/5497827

Tea Drying http://www.flickr.com/photos/myragoodrich/294337502/

Tea Week 1: Legends About the Discovery of Tea

I can't believe it has been so many months since I have been blogging, but I have not come around to writing much about tea. Tea is my go-to  beverage for anything and everything. Teas can be soothing and calming and at the same time refreshing and rejuvenating. Coffee has a good buzz and I occasionally drink it when I need a buzz, like on Monday mornings. But my preferred cuppa is always a cup of tea. Since, I have not written much about my preferred cuppa till date, I am dedicating a whole week on my blog to tea.

Today, I was going to write about origins of tea: a basic history and the journey of tea from the green leaf of the plant to our kitchens ready to be brewed. As I was reading up on the legends, I realised that there are so many fascinating legends surrounding tea, its discovery and history. It is difficult to choose one and go with it, so I have changed my post today to just talk about these legends.

1. Indian Legends

Firstly, let me talk about what the history of tea has been in our country. The documented evidence regarding tea drinking in India has been recorded in the Ramayana and dates back to B.C. 750.

Ramayana: Earliest Documented Evidence of Tea Drinking in India
Image courtesy: http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/features/2003/04/ramnavmi_02.shtml

 In Ayurveda, there is a tradition of using dried herbs such as pudina, mulethi etc for medicinal purposes. The Indian preparation of tea, 'chai' with its milky, sweet taste served as a perfect disguise for these punjent and bitter tasting herbs. This evidence trail however went cold for about a thousand years afterwards.

The legends re-emerged with Buddhist legends. They say that a Buddhist monk, who has been called Dharma Boddhisatva or Bodhidharma, decided to spend seven years without sleeping to contemplate about the teachings of Buddha and about life. In the fifth year of his penance, he almost fell asleep. So, he took some leaves from a nearby plant and chewed on them. The leaves, which were the leaves of a wild tea plant, helped rejuvenate him and thus, tea was discovered.

Legend of Bodhidharma's Meditation and the Discovery of Tea
Image courtesy: http://greenteadoodles.wordpress.com/tag/bodhidharma/

2. Chinese Legends

In Chinese legends, Shen Nong (an emperor, a herbalist, and also called the father of agriculture and herbal medicine) has definitely been credited with the discovery of tea around B.C. 2700. However, things get a little misty from here. There are various stories of how he actually discovered tea.

One story in the ancient Chinese medical book, called The Divine Farmer’s Herb-Root Classic, has it that he would taste about 100 types of plants each day to discover which were edible, medicinal or poisonous. Moreover, legend also has it that he had a transparent belly that would allow him to observed the effects of these plants (not that I believe this part much). When he had tea leaves, he found that these passed through his stomach and intestines, checking for poisons and clearing them out of his system. He called these leaves "Cha" which meant "checking for poisons" and thus tea was discovered. This seems to be an unbelievable legend, especially because of the transparent stomach bit. So, I searched some more and found two more believable stories about Shen Nong and the discovery of tea.

Shen Nong, the falling leaves, and the discovery of tea
Image courtesy: http://www.china.org.cn/learning_chinese/Chinese_tea/2011-07/15/content_22999489.htm

One story has it that Emperor Shen Nong insisted on drinking boiled water for hygiene purposes. Once when he was on a trip to distant regions of his empire, his party halted to rest. As per his preference, his servants started boiling water for his consumption when a few leaves carried by the wind, fell into the boiling water. They went unnoticed and the water was drunk by Shen Nong who found the beverage rejuvenating. This is the legend of discovery of tea by Shen Nong. In another version of this story, it is said that Shen Nong took a rest under a tree after a long walk and lit a fire to boil water. Some leaves of a tea plant fell into this water and rejuvenated him after having tasted 100 plants the day before. Shen Nong believed that he had discovered a medicinal plant that can help a person think quicker, sleep less, move lighter, and see clearer.

These versions are quite Newtonian, I must say!


3. Japanese Legend 

The Japanese legend about the discovery of tea talks of the same Buddhist monk Bodhidharma as the Indian legend. However, this version is a little more gruesome. According to this legend, Bodhidharma who had taken the vow to meditate and not sleep for seven years (some versions say nine years, either ways it is a long time!) ended up actually falling asleep. He woke up and was disgusted and angry at himself for falling asleep. This led to him chopping his eyelids off. These fell to the ground and the first tea plant grew there!

Bodhidharma of the Japanese Legend about the Discovery of Tea
Image Courtesy: http://jp-planet.blogspot.in/2012/12/zen-gets-serious-bodhidharma.html

4. Korean Legend

According to the Korean legend, King Suro was one of the six princes born of an egg that descended from the sky. He married an Indian princess Heo Hwang-ok who brought with her a boatful of dowry. One of the gifts she got was tea seeds. And thus, tea came to Korea., from India.

King Suro and Queen Heo Hwang-ok
Image courtesy: http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?/topic/9807-koreas-indian-queen/

References 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea#cite_note-Macfarlane-4

http://www.tea.in/history

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_tea_culture

http://www.tching.com/2012/03/legends-on-the-origins-of-tea-from-china-japan-and-korea/

http://www.dethlefsen-balk.de/ENU/10730/Legend_of_Tea.html

6 o'clock Snack

The golden dewy syrupy sweetness of honey glazed onto bread toasted in butter that has been liberally slathered on it with a mug of hot strong 'when-I-want-tea-I-want-tea' tea... Ahhhhh!!