Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) Tea has long been a thing of addiction, a reason for roadside revelry and the lowest common denominator among beverages in India. But it also has exotic avatars that denote refinement and royalty and the Hilton Hotel here is offering 18 such types.

The Chynna Gold restaurant at the hotel comes with an exclusive tea lounge that oozes aromas ranging from chocolate to jasmine to strawberries to mushrooms.

Each of these rare tea types come with a rich history, an elaborate method of preparation, and like the good old wine - food types to go with it.

Then there’s a tea sommelier, with an effortless smile and a deep understanding of tea temperament, to guide you through the intimidating menu.

“Nine out of every 10 customers have queries. They ask all kinds of questions like where does the tea come from, how is it prepared, what to eat with it,” Sonia, the glamorous tea steward, told IANS.

The sophisticated tea bar is definitely devoid of the romanticism associated with roadside stalls, but the beverage on offer has all the infinite virtues of a piping hot cup of tea.

It soothes the nerves and ticks the brain, apart from effortlessly invading your senses and imagination.

You virtually take a sip of royalty when you order the restaurant’s signature tea - the immortal moment tea. Traces of 24-carat gold flakes sway on the surface as you take your first sip, contemplating if the vanilla flavour is overpowering that dark chocolate.

The strong flavours fight among themselves to leave an unsettling aftertaste which will find its peace only with a bite of banana cake. This desert tea will set you back by a good Rs.250, but it will leave you with a culinary experience that few would match in future.

Then there’s the visual delight of watching the handmade jasmine pearls tea being made. The pearl will magically bloom to acquire a flower- like shape as you drop it in boiling water. It will secrete a light brown colour and the most delicate of jasmine fragrance as it gently unfurls before your eyes.

Its preparation is quite elaborate. Jasmine flowers are first rolled into leaves and left like that for three months. After that the flowers are removed, leaving the leaves with a sensuous aroma. The leaves are then rolled into pearls.

Then there’s the strawberry flavoured ‘weekend in Shanghai tea’ that has the most powerful of aromas. It’s one of the few teas you can sniff from a distance, thanks to a very nostalgic lip balmy fragrance.

There’s also yellow tea buds - one of the rarest in the world with a mere 22 kg annual production, best known for having been served to Chinese emperors.

White tea to wash down oily food, semi-fermented green tea that makes stir-fried vegetables taste like some delicacy, or for that matter the smoky imperial lapsang souchong black tea that gives you culinary nirvana when had with red meat.

The teas are grown in China and Japan, and are flown in from Singapore’s TWG Tea company.

According to Sonia, the most popular are “the weekend in Shanghai tea and the jasmine pearls tea”.

All the varieties on the menu are priced Rs.150-250, a bit steep but, as they say, there’s no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea.

(Mohita Nagpal can be contacted at mohita.n@ians.in)