One thing common to all Indians is their love for a hot cup of tea every morning. On an average each Indian drinks at least a couple of cups of tea during the day and it is the most essential edible served to guests in Indian households. “No matter how much the coffee shop business thrives, tea will continue to remain favourite of Indians,” feels Sonali Subudhi, founder of Delhi Tea and Coffee Festival, which hosted its first session at Ashoka Hotel recently. A number of people, especially tea lovers and experts, attended the three-day long festival, which culminated with a tea-tasting session. A table was set with some special teas like vegetable tea, white tea, a variety of green tea, almond tea, Nilgiri and Darjeeling tea, and guests were seen sampling them according to their taste. Tea expert Vikram Mittal feels people are switching to coffee only because tea is not prepared in the right way in Indian kitchens. “If you develop a taste for a certain kind of tea with particular combination made in a specific way, you’d never leave the drink. Though people say that many are leaving tea for coffee, I feel there is not a vast change as tea continues to remain a staple item in the daily diet of Indians,” says Mittal. Beauty expert Blossom Kochhar, who attended the festival with daughter Samantha, shares how they both are hooked to the drink. “On an average we both consume at least 7-8 cups of green tea each day. Now that there is so much awareness about the benefits of tea, you can’t ignore it,” says Blossom. Daughter Samantha adds, “No matter which part of the world one goes to, our tea travels with us. We are genuine tea lovers.” Entrepreneur Suparna Trikha learnt about the properties of new tea leaf variants. “This is a very enterprising step to make people learn about various aspects of tea. I have launched a tea-based shampoo and I am hoping to learn more about properties of other such tea leaves and use them in my new products.” Socialite Kavita Ashok feels tea culture is back for sure. “Events like this prove that people genuinely love tea and a person like me appreciates the beauty connect it has. I am surprised to look at the variety available,” she ends.
