Tea and its many avatars!

Having a cup of tea at an upscale restaurant follows a protocol. You place the order and carry on with the conversation. One topic leads to another till you exhaust all topics. The tea is nowhere in sight. It is as if you are marooned on an island and forgotten. After an eternity, your tea arrives.

 The bearer is nattily dressed. His tray carries a porcelain tea-pot, a milk jug, slick cups and sachets of sugar. With finesse, he places each item on the table. After the cursory, “Do you need anything more sir?” he leaves you to make your cup of tea. With patience at tipping point, you take added care- lest you fumble and send the tea-pot crashing to the floor! The tea is now ready; you hold the cup with a certain poise and elan! A classy place requires a matching tea-etiquette! You like your tea piping-hot. This beverage is the opposite- damp and lukewarm. Half the cup and you give up. You pay for the tea and several times more for the ambience- with its mellow lighting and piped music.  

The highway tea-joint is in sharp contrast. It is a popular destination for all outstation buses. The place bustles with people. You observe tea served at the adjoining table. The crockery is basic- a utilitarian cup and a saucer to go with it. He deftly pours the tea into the saucer. Steam wafts off the saucer as he raises the saucer to the lips. Each audible slurp is followed by a clearing of the throat- it is evident the tea is strong and laced with ginger! As he laps the last bit off the saucer, satisfaction is writ large on the face!

There are others who cannot have tea in isolation. A packet of biscuit has to go with the tea. Before you bite the biscuit off, you get it to a soft consistency by dipping it in the hot tea! Alertness is of essence- for a little more in the tea and you are left with a biscuit stub! Rest of the time is spent fishing out the biscuit debris with a second biscuit. Soon, you have lost both- the fish and the fishing rod! In the end, you gulp the concoction in whole- a mix of tea, biscuit and a lot more!

“Matka-chai” is a delightful tea variant. The tiny clay-pot has no handle and is palmed in the hand. In addition to being bio-degradable, it has an earthy fragrance and taste. And with a dash of cardamom, matka-chai is in a league of its own!

Tea remaining the same, such variety in preparation, crockery, style, taste and ambience!