12 Gourmet Teas From India For Tea Lovers To Sip And Surrender

A drizzle eventually turning into downpour, book in hand gradually demystifying the plot and a cup filled with perfectly brewed tea makes for an ideal tranquil setup. Especially for ones who are big time loners .

While many of us can endure bad weather and horrible reads, we just can’t take a badly-brewed cuppa tea.

Ask a tea enthusiast any time about the recipe to an enriching cup of tea that has it all to take you over by its delightful aroma.

He or she would call your attention for many things – the type of tea, temperature of water in the teapot, time of steeping, re-steeping, if at all you must re-steep a particular tea variety, choice of  method for re-steeping and the like.

That being said, if you yearn for those perfect brews, you certainly need to understand the classes of tea and how each type must be prepared.

If we talk about the classic teas that are made from tea leaves, all are harvested from the same plant known as Camellia sinensis. Be it Black tea, Oolong tea, Green tea or White tea, all originate from the same leaf.

Then what makes each variety different from the rest?  It is the processing method and not the tea plant that creates the difference in these tea varieties.

Let’s just make it a hell lot simpler and understand how processing method brings about that difference.

Unlike Black and Oolong tea, green tea is ‘not allowed to ferment’ while processing.

The tea leaves and buds are simply picked, dried for few hours, steamed or roasted, dried again and then stored in packaging containers, which is why they tend to retain more of teas natural antioxidants and have lesser caffeine.

The other types of teas such as herbal teas, root teas, spice teas, yerba mate are actually not teas as these do not contain tea leaves.

These are alternatives to classic teas that are  flavored with flowers, fruits and spices. Since these ‘do not’ contain tea leaves, they have ‘no caffeine’.

Here’s an info-graphic that tells you all about the tea types, their preparation and things to keep in mind while helping yourself with a cup of tea the next time.

The tea sommeliers in India, some as old as twenty years in the industry, have introduced some of the finest classic teas, handmade teas and bespoke infusions to the tea enthusiasts of our country.

Keen on taking your tea sipping and tasting obsession to a whole new level? Here is a list of gourmet teas from India you must hinge on!