TEA TO A T
I am a tea fanatic.
There, I’ve said it. As a true-blue mallu, in addition to white-blood cells, red blood cells, thromboplastins and what have you, I also have tea in my blood.
I was introduced to tea in the long forgotten past, when my “tea” contained two drops of tea in a whole cup of milk. It was drunk without complaint though, sparing my mom the arduous exercise of getting a whole glass of milk down my throat without fuss.
As I grew, my tea did grow stronger, though it was served in quantities inadequate to quench the thirst of an ant. I made up for it by adding hot water to fill my cup to the brim so I could enjoy a full cup of tea right alongside the adults.
Tea at my grandmother’s in Vaikom had the taste I have never managed to replicate. Partly because it was made from milk fresh from the cow. The tea leaves to water ratio was strictly adhered to, with the use of the same spoon and cup for measurement every time the brew was concocted. This was tradition, followed from aeons and lord save the soul of anyone who dared use the wrong spoon or the wrong cup. The sugar always went into the boiled milk in a different vessel. The tea infusion and the milk were then mixed and it was blended by using a miniature steel mug and the tea was poured from dizzying heights. The resulting cup of sheer heaven had froth to rival the ones made by waves in the Vembanad lake hitting the jetty.
Fast forward to the present. My experiments with concocting the perfect brew here in the land of opportunities continue. One of the first things I packed was two packets of Kannan Devan Tea. And boy, am I glad I did that. Because I have come across green tea, black tea, vanilla chai, chamomile tea, orange pekong tea, and god knows what else, but no plain tea. To top it all the creamers (stuff that imitates milk) here have flavors in everything from vanilla to coconut to hazelnut. And somewhere in this mélange of tastes, lurks the flavor of tea.
I currently make my tea in a little steel vessel brought from home expressly for that purpose, but I think I shall switch to a nonstick variety what with all the scrubbing to get it clean again. I pour in everything together, the low fat milk (water colored white?), huge quantities of sugar so fine that it can easily be mistaken for salt, and water, bring it to a boil strain it through my bright yellow tea strainer and voila, I have a poor imitation of the tea back home. And by the way, did I mention that I have my American friend C hooked to this version of my tea. She now religiously drinks this concoction with me every morning.
My latest experiment is microwave tea. I dunk two bags of Lipton 100% natural tea (with 175mg natural antioxidants each mind you!!) put in two heaped teaspoons of the pure white cane sugar (no beet sugars, the blurb on the packet says) and microwave it for 2 minutes. There, tea with the minimum of fuss!!!!
I have also discovered Tazo tea which I have learned to like. The blurb on the packet states, “ Throughout India, chai wallahs can be found serving up steaming cups of sweetly spiced chai to wandering souls.” All the master makers of tea in the chaya kadas (tiny tea shops) back home, I wish you could see this!!!!
There, I’ve said it. As a true-blue mallu, in addition to white-blood cells, red blood cells, thromboplastins and what have you, I also have tea in my blood.
I was introduced to tea in the long forgotten past, when my “tea” contained two drops of tea in a whole cup of milk. It was drunk without complaint though, sparing my mom the arduous exercise of getting a whole glass of milk down my throat without fuss.
As I grew, my tea did grow stronger, though it was served in quantities inadequate to quench the thirst of an ant. I made up for it by adding hot water to fill my cup to the brim so I could enjoy a full cup of tea right alongside the adults.
Tea at my grandmother’s in Vaikom had the taste I have never managed to replicate. Partly because it was made from milk fresh from the cow. The tea leaves to water ratio was strictly adhered to, with the use of the same spoon and cup for measurement every time the brew was concocted. This was tradition, followed from aeons and lord save the soul of anyone who dared use the wrong spoon or the wrong cup. The sugar always went into the boiled milk in a different vessel. The tea infusion and the milk were then mixed and it was blended by using a miniature steel mug and the tea was poured from dizzying heights. The resulting cup of sheer heaven had froth to rival the ones made by waves in the Vembanad lake hitting the jetty.
Fast forward to the present. My experiments with concocting the perfect brew here in the land of opportunities continue. One of the first things I packed was two packets of Kannan Devan Tea. And boy, am I glad I did that. Because I have come across green tea, black tea, vanilla chai, chamomile tea, orange pekong tea, and god knows what else, but no plain tea. To top it all the creamers (stuff that imitates milk) here have flavors in everything from vanilla to coconut to hazelnut. And somewhere in this mélange of tastes, lurks the flavor of tea.
I currently make my tea in a little steel vessel brought from home expressly for that purpose, but I think I shall switch to a nonstick variety what with all the scrubbing to get it clean again. I pour in everything together, the low fat milk (water colored white?), huge quantities of sugar so fine that it can easily be mistaken for salt, and water, bring it to a boil strain it through my bright yellow tea strainer and voila, I have a poor imitation of the tea back home. And by the way, did I mention that I have my American friend C hooked to this version of my tea. She now religiously drinks this concoction with me every morning.
My latest experiment is microwave tea. I dunk two bags of Lipton 100% natural tea (with 175mg natural antioxidants each mind you!!) put in two heaped teaspoons of the pure white cane sugar (no beet sugars, the blurb on the packet says) and microwave it for 2 minutes. There, tea with the minimum of fuss!!!!
I have also discovered Tazo tea which I have learned to like. The blurb on the packet states, “ Throughout India, chai wallahs can be found serving up steaming cups of sweetly spiced chai to wandering souls.” All the master makers of tea in the chaya kadas (tiny tea shops) back home, I wish you could see this!!!!
posted by newatthis at 2:09 PM
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