Tea! The wonder drink!

India produces one of the finest qualities of teas in the world –  like the quintessential Darjeeling Tea. And yet! We as a nation never learnt how to truly appreciate tea as a fine drink or learn how to make a perfect cup of tea! What a pity! Perhaps, this comes from the lack of knowledge […]

Tea in India – How it all began!

As per evidence it is been said that history of tea drinking dates back to 750 BC in India. It begins with a legend. A monk who later became the founder of Zen Buddhism decided to spend seven sleepless years contemplating the life and teachings of Buddha. While he was at fifth year of his […]

My Story and Cuppa

Growing up in a Bengali family in Kolkata allowed me to get access to the world of tea at a very early age. My father is a tea lover and I occasionally used to visit the tea stores in various parts of Kolkata in search of the perfect blend, along with him. Over the last […]

Tea & Wine – they are more similar than you thought.

Yes! You got it right. Tea is very similar to wine, though more complex, when it comes to the appreciation and food pairing process. As a good wine can be measured buy its ‘body’ and ‘aroma’, so is tea. The difference you need to keep in mind is that wines come from various varieties of […]

All Teas are good for Your Health!

You heard me right! All teas are good for your health, unless you kill them by adding loads of milk and sugar! Tea has the following health benefits, irrespective of its type  – that is, white, green, black or oolong : 1. Tea contains antioxidants 2. Tea has less caffeine than coffee 3. Tea may […]

“Love at first sip” – the story of her cuppa

“I was a coffee drinker all my love until I came to Smart iDeAS! Then something happened – an interesting and unexpected change that turned me into a tea lover. How I still remember the fights I used to have with my mom for fixing me tea instead of coffee as she was a tea […]

My Tea Workshop with Lloyd’s Tea House, Chennai

Lloyd’s Tea House is a well know tea room in Chennai –  you can say that this is the go-to place for all tea lovers in this land of coffee. Run by investment Banker Pavan Mahtani and his very accomplished baker wife, Lloyd’s Tea House, I found, is a buzzing joint filled with happy customers […]

Tasting the Avataa Tea

Avataa Tea is one of the leading tea brands of South India, and the distinguishing factor that I find about their teas, are the unique flavours and the freshness that each of their teas offer. Avataa comes from the Sanskrit word “fresh” as their website mentions and coming from an elevation of 6400 ft in […]

A brief history of Tea in India

The history of tea is as fascinating as the history of mankind. Some believe that tea was first ‘discovered’ some 4000 years ago in China when a king, who was sleeping under a tree had kept his hot cup of water, right next to him, to be taken when he woke up. The story goes […]