Tea and me!

If you ever asked me that what would I prefer, tea or coffee, it would always be tea, unless I am trying to act sophisticated (which I some times do!). Good old desi, I like my tea to be served hot and I take my own sweet time to drink it. Ginger over cardamom, little sugar, loads of milk and a good gossip, that's all that I need. I don't hate the CCDs and the Baristas of the world for not serving good tea. Tea is best had in the roadside dhabas, munching over a small pack of Parle-G and discussing the seriousness in the world with a smile on your lips.

Tea is not just a beverage, its like a dialect. Every place leaves its own mark on it but unlike people leaving marks on the monuments and making it ugly, tea is prettier for the marks people and places put on it. I believe the quality of the tea served in a place tells you a lot about the people that inhabit that place. The way it is served, the way it is had and the way you pay for it,

tells you how the place like to be treated, and how you can expect yourself to be treated.

I have traveled a bit and have found myself hating cities because they do not have the "Tea Culture". Take Delhi for example. The city boasts of two of the best universities in India (DU and JNU) truck loads of colleges and students swarming like bees. But hang around the campuses and you would not get the kind of "Chai" that you would expect. Students' tea ought to be light on the milk, strong with the leaves, a shade of ginger that leaves a good aftertaste which would help if you are smoking while having your tea. Unfortunately, Delhi's tea is just the opposite. Too much of milk, almost no ginger and light on tea leaves. Too smooth for my liking, as if the city wants to conceal its rudeness in the tea that it is serving.

Add to it the fact that your would be hard pressed to find a tea joint in most areas, and even more so on a Sunday. Why on earth should one be deprived of the joy of having a good tea on a Sunday?

If you ever visit Kolkata, you will be surprised to see the kind of tea served there. First the liquor is made and then the milk is added to it. A time saving way of making tea. One would be surprised because in Kolkata, every one has a lot of time, the laid back attitude of the city has not corrupted the way the tea is made though.

Thats a very British way of making tea, and the raj days are still there to be seen in Kolkata. The British Babudom has paved way for the Bengali Babudom. But bureaucracy nonetheless.

Pune for that matter doesn't care about anything. The place is young, vibrant and ambitious. The place is trying hard to get out of the Pensioner's Paradise image of its. The tea in Pune is served in a set of cup and plates and people drinking tea of their plates instead of cup is a very common sight. But you will also find places where tea is served in glasses and it makes me wonder if the city has not yet identified its true self.

And that brings me to my favorite city, Mumbai. Everything in Mumbai runs at a fanatic pace, except the tea shops. The fast food of the city is Vada Pav, a quick desi burger. The choicest mode of transport is the Fast Local, the breakfast is a quick fix Misal Pav( and I love it!) but the tea is laid back. Stirred in a Brass vessel to perfection, good dose of ginger and less sugar, it is tasted by the vendor first to ensure that it has his hallmark on it and then it is served. Nobody rushes through a cup of tea in Mumbai, as if it is their "Me-Time".

Me, my cup of tea and my balcony on a rain washed evening. Life is not that bad after all! :)