“No matter where you are in the world, you are at home when tea is served” — Earlene Grey
Earlene Grey is a poet and aficionado of a fine cuppa. Marriage between tea and poetry got Earlene famous for her Tea-Poetry. Tea is a ritual, it takes its place at the beginning of the day to bring out our ability to see greatness in small things and it carries on throughout. Enjoying the small luxury of life sip by sip and not gulp by gulp has been part of our daily life and culture for centuries. They say that some love to get dirty and fix things. They drink coffee at dawn, and beer after work. And those who stay clean, just appreciate things. At breakfast, they have milk and juice in the afternoon. And some do both, they drink tea. Tea is like a true warrior, shows its strength in hot water when it gets to boiling.
Tea tales
The history of tea is as lengthy and perplexing as its populace of flavours and kinds. It’s a history infused with fictitious sagas of spirituality and chronological enchantment. In current times, it has become the object of evidence-based science glorifying its healthy abilities. The fertile history of tea lends an intriguing perspective to the enjoyment of this beverage today. Born to get prominent in China. It has been exceptionally consumed as part of traditional remedies on the Asian continent for centuries. There is documentation of tea as early as the 1st century, but it wasn’t until the 16th century that it made its way to the western world. When the British East India Company became a powerful competitor to the Dutch East India Company. The first stronghold of tea production for the British was on the island of Macau. By the early 18th century, the British East India Company had monopolized the tea trade in China. Trading hubs were established in Bombay and Bengal and the company exerted its influence over politics and military affairs. The British wanted to begin their tea production to reduce the reliance on Chinese tea plantations. Plans were set into motion and experts were brought from China to begin harvesting tea in India. By 1823, the British and local Indians were cultivating black tea in the Assam and Darjeeling regions of the Indian subcontinent. Tea estates rose to prominence and soon the tea plants covered large swaths of rolling hillsides. Production ramped up and the British East India Company soon had enough tea plantations to end its reliance on Chinese trade. The tea travelled from China to Japan and Britain by the 16th century and at last, found its home ground in the hills of India.
Tea benefits
Tea is a quicker way to stay fit, alert and healthy, even hydrated as it contains all the nutrition and minerals which can benefit different ways if rightfully chosen. Daily therapy of Tea includes few basics to fetch healthy benefits such as;
Wake Up Call = Tumeric Tea (Anti Inflammatory)
Mid Morning = Green Tea ( Metabolism Boost)
Afternoon = Black tea ( Energy & Focus)
Before Bed= Chamomile Tea (Calming & Relaxing)
Even in Natural Remedies, there are a few tea hacks that work wonders from our mom’s kitchen. Such as;
Cold/Flu = Chai Tea ( Boost Immune System)
Sore Throat = Lemon & Honey Tea ( Relieves a sore throat)
Nausea = Ginger Tea ( Settles Stomach)
Bloating = Peppermint Tea ( Helps with Digestion)
Skin & Hair = Rooibos Tea ( makes your skin & hair more beautiful )
Weight Loss = Green Matcha ( cuts down the fat cells and boost immune system )
There’s something in the Tea family for all your problems and many brands have blended their mixes to create an exclusive range of teas for those of us who love to enjoy a high-end luxury tea experience the same way that the Royals do,
FORTNUM & MASON
Fortnum & Mason was founded in Duke street, London in 1707 by Hugh Mason and William Fortnum. The iconic brand is Internationally renowned for its stunning selection and a special edition of teas, food and china. They have introduced a premium range of their most-famous blend, created originally for Edward VII. An upgrade on your regular morning brew, Royal Blend’s malty, honey-like flavour makes it an ideal partner to a strong breakfast marmalade or lunchtime Rarebit. Fortnum’s proudly served 12 monarchs, but 10 yrs after the opening of Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon in 2012, The Queen celebrates her Platinum Jubilee in 2022. In anticipation of this landmark moment, the F&M introduce their Platinum Jubilee collection. Its rich, full-flavoured blend marries mellow-sweet and golden-bright loose leaf teas from India, Sri Lanka and China. The limited-edition blend is well and truly fit for a royal taste or any celebratory tea time.
TWININGS
Nothing beats a traditional English cuppa and this regal golden tea caddy from Twinings will turn your afternoon tea into a stately affair. Serve this “ The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee” loose leaf commemorative blend with homemade scones laden with cream and strawberry jam for the perfect, quintessentially British celebration. Their selection of premium black, green and herbal teas with fruit infusions includes assam second flush, darjeeling lose leaf, darjeeling green whole leaf, pure chamomile, pure peppermint, lemon ginger teas.
TGL Co.
The Good Life Company, popularly known as TGL Co. Is the fastest growing hot beverages startup in India that sources the finest quality teas from the best same regions which supplies to one of the richest tea brands in the world. TGL Co. Offers exotic tea blends with real fruits, flowers, herbs and spices handcrafted at their state-of-the-art contract manufactured blending facilities in Europe under the controlled supervision of culinary experts, botanists and tea masters. Best part about TGL Co is that it gives the high-end luxury tea experience with easy access. Type to search “the luxury tea” segment on Amazon, it gives maximum choices and types in the tea category showing under the brand TGL Co. Apart from being amazingly tasty – most of their ingredients have wellness benefits. Their flavours are extremely powerful, tasty and healthy to indulge in. Beautifully formed in a biodegradable pyramid tea bag, their packet in nitrogen-flushed sachets provides luxury alternatives to the Indian consumer who wishes to avoid the International shipping charges yet have the royal experience with their selection of teas.
TASSE DE THÉ
TDT Premium collection offers the most exotic tea flavours such as Jasmine Snowflakes, Root therapy Blend, Shanlinxi High mountain, Eastern Beauty, Indian Treasure etc. What TDT offers are multiple infusions which can be used after steeping it. One of the greatest advantages of drinking whole leaf tea is that each serving of leaves can be re-steeped many times. This tea can be re-steeped 5 times, and it’s full of health advantages such as Good heart rate, Stress relief, Weight loss, Relaxation, and Lower cholesterol. TDT is available on their website and each aroma will walk you through fields of fresh herbs, flowers and fruits they infused in exclusively created flavours.
Octavius tea
Octavius tea has a range of gorgeous tea boxes that spell luxury but will also go easy on your pocket. They look beautiful and taste evenly good. They offer a range of caffeine-free teas, tea for stress, green tea infusions, delicious black teas, the wellness caffeine-free Teas contain caffeine-free premium tisanes. Their ornate wooden boxes contain an assortment of 30 tea bags with different flavours with beautiful floral art, Taj print and tile motif. There’s something wonderful in every category they offer to all the tea lovers out there
Tea is a perfect beverage to enjoy any cold evening or start your sunny day. It’s herbal components and leaves can relax, energies or soothe your body type. You can brew it hot, cold or have it with ice or bottled. Today tea has become a strong spirit of Indian culture. “Ek garam chai ki pyali” is all we need to start our mornings, sit with our loved ones for gupshup or have an afternoon tea soiree with our La Di Dazz. it’s a need of enjoying the monsoon in India, we say chai pakodas or chai with bun-maska, in the north they prefer chai and samosas. There are so many different ways to drink tea and maximize its benefits. Just like an upper class in Europe takes an afternoon tea which is served on a tea table with sandwiches and scones. While a labour class used to have high tea on the dinner table right after their long day of hardship and right before dinner to enjoy and relish with friends and family. The Spirit of Tea beverage is one of peace, comfort, and refinement as in Chinese, they say Tea washes the spirit. It enters your stomach to clean your mind and thinking.
Wishing you all loads of tea and good times on the occasion of “International Tea Day”
