Flowering Teas...wow!

Ever since I discovered the pale golden teas in Chinese/Thai restaurants, I have been inexorably drawn to them. Then a Chinese friend of mine brought back a pouch of Jasmine tea from China, complete with delicate white flowers in it. It even released a delicious smell when brewed. Since then I regularly consume vast quantities of Jasmine tea that can be found in distinctive tins in Asian stores.

I have also tried many of the "New Age-y" teas in the speciality stores, in the tea sections of regular grocery stores and in many of the "natural foods" stores but frankly, few of those have measured up in any way -- taste, smell, flavor. Most such fancy teas (with fancy names) have been big disappointments.

Then I have tried many of the sweet tea drinks ("juiced teas") that seem to be flooding the market and suddenly the boundaries of tea seem to have been expanded to uncharted domains for me: there are white teas and red teas (Rooibos), plum teas and brambelberry teas, a variety of cinnamon teas and several takes on traditional green teas.

Of all the sweet teas, I love the Tazo teas, especially the Plum, Wild Orange and Lemon Ginger flavors.




Most recently I had the opportunity of savoring Flowering Teas...a "tea flower" all bunched up, closed-up like a bud is dropped into hot water... after a while...it opens up...almost as majestically as a lotus blossoming...


All this, to a traditional Indian 'chai' drinker is the opening up of an entire new and alien world...most Indian tea drinkers are quite attached to the hot, sweet, milk-tea taste that characterises chai -- that is the world of tea to most of them. The variations come in the form of some ingredients like cardamom, cinnamon and ginger and also some regional "masalas"[the famous masala chai of Bombay]. But a good "basic" cuppa has to have the right balance of milk, tea and sugar -- and optimum boiling. This is pretty much the typical, no-frills and straight-ahead kind of tea available all across India (and much sought after). There are no widely different varieties of tea commonly available [of course there are several kinds of black teas...] and even regional variations are few. Kashmir does have its signature Kahwa and there are jokes about milky Haryanvi tea being made by adding tea to milk (instead of milk to tea); there is the flavorful kulhad-chai (chai in small earthen vessels) and the tea in expensive china, there are some who can appreciate the differences between the major brands 0f tea, but by and large chai is a staple people do not play around with much...if I am served chai at any place there is an expected taste...the taste brought about by the prefect balance.