All was not lost during my recent trip to Munnar. We spent a wonderful morning at the Tea Museum which is one of the places one HAS to visit.

There’s more to a tea pot than what you thought

Years ago (almost half a century ago), I remember going with my class to the Tea Board Office at Churchgate, where we were told what went into a pot of tea. As eight-year-olds, we were hardly interested in tea or tea parties. If ever we went to one, we had to mind our p’s and q’s, talk in hushed whispers, nibble at the cucumber sandwiches, and politely decline the second slice of cake while our mums sipped tea from delicate bone china cups. Luckily, we had hot chocolate instead.

But what I do remember after all these years is how to make a good pot of tea.

“Rinse the pot in boiling water before adding one teaspoon of tea for each person and an extra one for the pot.

Then pour the required amount of boiling hot water, put the lid on tight and let it steep or brew for five minutes before pouring out each cup.

Tea should be drunk without any milk or sugar, but if milk is a must, then only a drop of cold milk will do.”

Now in an Indian household, these instructions are like water off a duck’s back. In most kitchens, a pot of tea would be boiling for at least five minutes after the leaves are added and for another two after the milk is added so that you get a nice, strong brew. This is the cup that we all want. Strong, robust chai. One where you dip in your biscuit or khari, one which you pour into a saucer and blow over to cool before slurping it noisily and letting out an ‘aaah’ of pure satisfaction .

How to really Make a cup of tea

Well, all these years of slurpy chai went for a toss when I visited the Kannan Devan Hills Plantation Tea Museum at Munnar. Formerly known as Tata-Finlay, this tea company is unique in that a large part of the shareholding belongs to the workers!

Tea was known to India before the British, but it was only the British who cultivated this plant and introduced the chai culture.

Brought to the Kannan Devan hills, by the British in the 1870s, the high ranges of Munnar produce some of the best teas in the world.

Since photography at the museum is prohibited, I kept my phone in my pocket and admired instead the artefacts from planters’ homes, concentrated on the documentary and the visit to the factory.

The highlight for us, of course was tasting the tea.

The Tea Taster took us through a variety of teas, ranging from White Tea, which is the most expensive as it is made from the tender leaves in bud form. These are naturally sun-dried and produce a light liquor when brewed, to the tea dust or powder that is much loved by roadside tea vendors.

The Green Tea is the second pair of leaves and is mechanically dried. But it is only rolled and produces a liquor with more colour. Both these teas are NOT to be drunk on an empty stomach and NEVER with a spot of milk, she told us.

Thereafter, the lower leaves are used to produce black tea that is either Orthodox or Crushed Torn and Curled.

Tea leaves that are gently rolled and regain their shape upon brewing make up Orthodox or English breakfast.This delicately tinted tea is light and flavourful. You could add a spot of milk but remember it must be cold and literally not more than a drop !

The CTC that is most popular is robust having gone through a process of cutting, tearing and curling. These tiny leaves are graded size wise. This can make a strong black tea. We were also treated to flavoured teas and were asked to guess what the flavours were.

No visit is complete without a look at the shop. I highly recommend the preserves that are made by the specially challenged, the chocolates and of course the various teas.

not without the tata’s

Even though Tat-Finlay no longer exists, the Tata’s have a large presence in Munnar.

Tata’s High Range Hospital provides affordable healthcare to its workers and is open to the local populace, too. It runs a CBSE school. for the children of its employees. Tata’s also run a special centre called Shristi, which educates and rehabilitates the children who are specially challenged, training them in skills that can make them financially independent.

So the next time you drink a cup of tea, especially if it’s a Tetley’s, remember that there is more than just tea leaves that go into a pot of tea.

Ciao