Hola friends! Today I have Shalini Basiwala who blogs at Shalzmojo doing a guestpost on my blog. She is one of the strong-minded and ambitious women I got to meet in this amazing blogging world. Her thoughts resonate in her blog posts and leaves a profound impact on her readers. She is a travel buff and her travel posts are worth a read, which are filled with memories, experiences and frank views.
This post is part of a bloghop in December, where 28 bloggers have come together to support each other as a community.
Over to Shalz…
I am a self-professed tea holic! It’s a statement that really defines me as all who know me well, know my penchant for this humble beverage. So when Keerthi sent me a photo prompt for the guest post I knew what I was writing about; TEA!!!!
Photo Prompt
Recently a friend invited me out for a tea tasting event at the Anandini tea studio in ShahpurJat. Now for folks who don’t know Anandini; it’s the brainchild of the very effervescent Anamika Singh, who calls herself the tea-whisperer. It’s her unique palate combined with her tea-grower lineage that she has fused together to concoct some divine tea brews for the folks like me who love flavours in their teas.
The tea studio is an unpretentious but cozy space down one of the by lanes of the Shahpur Jat village where we were greeted with the sight of a huge table laid out for a high tea with some gorgeous crockery & cutlery. I expected the Mad hatter to pop up somewhere too 😉 Oh, by the way we had a fun gift to unwrap too, which was quite unexpected but coveted for its precious content.
This event was designed around the breakfast teas or more popularly known as bed-tea in India; the tea, which we have the first thing in the morning. Anamika had categorized them into four distinct flavours based on their origins and flavorings used. The teas were packaged in delightfully coloured tin boxes which made one guest comment that they reminded her of lipstick shades 🙂
So we started with the French Breakfast tea, served in this gorgeous shot glass and was to be had without any milk or sugar. Perfect for me as I am not a fan of either 😉 This tea was not very strong, but packed a flavourful punch and I think I liked it.
Next up was the traditional English Breakfast, again served in a shot glass and reminded me of the teas had at the coffee shops of many hotels during my vacations.
Then came the Russian Breakfast tea and I fell in love with the glass it was presented it; reminded me of the Vodka tumbler. And this tea was the best I has so far as it had a hit from bergamot and lent it the perfect tangy citrusy note.
Lastly, we had the Indian Breakfast tea, which was to be had with milk and sugar; regardless to say I didn’t enjoy it all 😉
All the while talking about the teas, Anamika gave us tidbits about how to brew the perfect cup. So it seems tea is ruined with milk and sugar. Also, it’s not supposed to be boiled and boiled and boiled. On the contrary, heat the water till you see a few bubbles on the side, turn off the flame, drop in one teaspoon of tea per cup and cover to brew for 2-3 minutes. Strain and enjoy. Apparently boiling brings out the tannic acid in the tea leaves, making the tea very acrid and bitter.
Oh, and this was a proper tea party with rusks, cookies, cheese straws and a variety of breads and cheeses. Especially loved the apple, cinnamon and tea jam which her mom makes on their farm.
It was a very happy bunch of women at the end of the session and we couldn’t stop thanking Anamika and her passion for teas.
This post is written for the December bloghop #mymojo with Shalzmojo
Linking up for #wordsante with Namysaysso for every post deserves some love
Please do read about My bond ecstacy, when she learnt to make a martini – Show some love on this post 🙂
About Shalzmojo
An interior designer by profession, writing is a passion which, coupled with travel love blossomed into this blog where I love to just “do my thing”! Be it recipes, food events, travel jaunts, fiction dreaming or even meditative musings; all of it’s taken up quite passionately on my blog. I am a serious wine guzzler and love to chase butterflies in my free time.
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Thanks for featuring Shalini, Keerthi. Shalini, I’m going green with envy…this sounds like a fantastic opportunity for a tea-lover like me. I cannot but agree with Anamika’s method of tea-making…that’s exactly how I’d love my perfect cuppa to be! Ah, Russian Breakfast tea it is, coz I love the citrusy Bergamot, quite similar to my other all-time favourite—Earl Grey!
Oh nice Esha – we have loads in common. I am so sorry that we missed meeting up when I was last in Bangalore; hope to rectify that soonest!!
Next time for sure, Shalini! ?
I recall attending a high tea event which was conducted by the owner of “Infinite” a leading Chai cafe in Bangalore where they boast of 100 varieties of tea. We tasted 5 different types of tea with some accompaniments lie scones and croissants. It was a wonderful experience though for me nothing beats the masala chai
wow Aks- that sounds awesome!! Do share more from there if you have pics. And my fav is the masala chai too – or my biryanai chai as I call it 😉
I am not a tea enthusiast but belong to the Coffee clan. However after reading about so many types of teas and the perfect way to brew it, I think I am gonna try it.
Thats so sweet of you to say so Anagha! I look forward to hearing about your experience on this!
Just reading about them has such a refreshing effect on my senses!! Lovely post Shalini!!
Thanks a tonne Prasanna – happy to have made peeps happy with this!! 🙂
Although people think of the United States as a coffee country, we drink more tea than ever, I suspect. My Mom introduced me to tea early (tea bags; sorry) and yes, I like it without either milk or sweetener. There isn’t much tea grown in our country but there are people trying to change that. I would have loved that event.
Thanks Alana. Yup these tea tasting events are great here and the tea master has her own tea gardens where she blends them. So these are pretty authetic and to the taste.BTW tea bags are passe – loose tea is the in thing these days 😉
I love to taste Tea everywhere. I must tell you that the snaps have come out really well. Loved the post. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers!!
UK
http://fashionablefodz.com
Thanks so much Utpal- happy to hear such positive feedback 🙂
I am not a tea lover….but after reading this will try it once……
Oh thats great to hear; do share your experience when you do!
Ah! What a lovely tea party. Yes, though we love our tea milky and sweet but that’s not how it should be made. I love the English Breakfast Tea and would love to check out Russian and French Breakfast Tea sometimes soon. It’s midnight here and I so want to have a cup of tea now!!
The Russian one is just delightful and you must defintely try it; I will gift it to you when we meet next for sure; now hurry up and make a plan soonest!!! 🙂
That was a delightful treat, Keerthi. Being a tea-lover myself, I loved the all of the four perfectly brewed cuppa. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this, Shalini. 🙂
Thanks Vinitha – I am so glad this was liked. Cheers from one tea lover to another 🙂
I am a tea lover myself, and tea parties and Alice in wonderland, so it is safe to say this post resonated with me in more ways than one. Oh, i so wish i was invited too to that tea party!