Are you a stickler for a good cup of tea, rich in aroma and taste? Do you believe that a good cup of tea kickstarts your morning? Be happy then, for tea has arrived back on the scene with tea boutiques and tea parlours catching people's fancy in a way that has never happened before. Tea is back in its new 'avatar' in a reinvented form and has come a full circle.

Remember the social milieu of afternoon tea sessions in Jane Austen and Emile Bronte books with their elaborate tea table settings, parlour maids with her starched caps and aprons serving tea and hot scones? The present day tea parlours and tea boutiques try to send the  message that  the vestiges of Victorian ambience created by the aroma of a richly brewed tea, dainty cups and stylised kettle still attract the tea connoisseurs.   

This is good news indeed since this wonder beverage went through a rough time in  recent  years. Excess supply, stagnant consumption and changing lifestyle of the Indian youth had pushed tea behind in the preference list. The Cola regime, the coffee parlours  seen as a symbol of youth, made tea somewhat associated with the old and the infirm.

Coffee parlours projected a certain gay abandon, of celebration and fun. The popular television show Koffee with Karan glamourised coffee drinking by associating itself with the celebs.  And then, ads showing happy young men and women drinking hot creamy steaming coffee, young couples biking and taking breaks over cups of coffee, men making coffee to please their spouses, projected the brew preferred by the happening people. It came as a contrast to tea ads that showed old and arthritic people savouring the cuppa or a housewife serving tea to her family, daadi ma ka nuska for coughing children. All these images of mundane domesticity did not help make tea take on a young image. Sure enough, quietly in an unceremonious fashion, the good old 'chai' suffered a beating at the hands of coffee and cola among the city crowd.

Experts from within the industry think that tea was never upgraded with the times, and it suffered for its projected down-market image of  being sold only in dhabas, roadside stalls .

Add to this the rigours of tea making. It is work after all! The young customer loved speed and style and to prepare tea was both time consuming and hard work, and these became its limiting factors.

Makeover

However, the good news is that tea has finally started getting a makeover; it is being resurrected and slowly but steadily the demand is going upwards. The thrust on advertising has been visible with the television jingles consciously including the health message in their  brands, like: tea contains ingredients that lower the risk of heart disease, helps you lose weight, protects you against stroke and cancer, etc. Visuals of young people enjoying a cup of tea in the rainy season is a welcome change. 

In Kolkata, the original tea capital of India, tea parlours are making headlines too. Old favourites like the 'Flury's on the Park Street has  had an image makeover by making it an exclusive tea joint. Accompanied by interesting bites like croissants and muffins in a true Victorian fashion, it  offers a sit and sip environment. The interior has been designed keeping in mind the tea houses in European countries and with the right accessories, sugar tongs, strainers, doilies, tea strainers, dainty tea-cosies etc.

Diagonally opposite to the Flury’s is ‘The Tea Table’, T3 in short, which has a relaxed aura where you can have your adda with friends while you can sip the golden brew.

The way to brew

*Big-bottomed kettles allow tea leaves to spread and brew. Tea leaves need space to swell, and unfurl.

*Teabags: let it steep for at least three minutes. Tea leaves: steep for five.

*Darjeeling tea: Savour without any add-ons like sugar and milk. Try with honey, or a squeeze of lime.

*Create an atmosphere. Introduce class and elegance in good China and porcelain cups, delicate tea strainer, doilies, tea tongs, tea timers  and a big hearted tea pot.

*Last but not the least, play your favourite music while you sip your tea.