France’s Love For Tea & Its First Teas Of The World Contest

“Not one cup of tea have I taken without cursing the glory and the ambition that keeps me away from the soul of my life”, part of Napoleon’s letter to his beloved Josephine in 1796.

 

Tea, indeed, has a very long history in France. The first tea came to Paris via the Dutch in the 17th century, a few years before it arrived in London. Soon it became a drink of the elite and the aristocracy. Unlike the British where the tea was and still is a part of everyday household affair, tea in France stayed at the aristocratic salons frequented by the rich and noble. But with the French Revolution tea made an exit from the life of French people (I had mentioned about it in my last blog as well) … until now.

 

Today, tea is finding its foot back to France – slowly, yet firmly.

The silent tea revolution that is undergoing in France for the last couple of decade is developing into a refined and delicate affair – as befits their gastronomic heritage. Inside France, there is a sudden surge for tea that is sweeping the middle classes. In Paris and beyond, specialty tea rooms are opening up successfully. “People are taking classes to learn how to taste and to serve. Literally hundreds of varieties and blends are now available for sale.  A new generation of health- and fashion-conscious consumers has begun discovering the world of tastes that tea can open up.”

It is also not surprising at all then that the French treats their tea exactly like wine!  They explore the taste of tea exactly as they explore the tastes of wine – through different colours, vintages, new growth, single estate, fermented. Today in Paris, even Michelin starred restaurants are taught on how to serve tea instead of wine.

“The French are always interested in the origins of what they eat and drink, and in the cultures that produced it,” says Francois-Xavier Delmas, founder of the Le Palais des Thes chain of tea shops.  Top that up with France’s ‘field-to-table’ agricultural approach, you are sure to get a connection of what you are drinking (or eating) and it’s origin (where it is produced).

 

The story of AVPA started on similar thoughts.

Philippe Juglar (now President, AVPA), Jean-Emmanuel Jourde (current General Secretary and Oil Competition Lead, AVPA) and Boris Hleap (Coffee Competition Lead, AVPA) met more 30 years ago when they were in the coffee import business. They were the first to launch a contest for specialty coffees roasted at origin before it became trendy, with the exact same vision as the association has today. But it was too early, and it didn’t pan out.

In the early 2000s, the coffee crisis and personal interests brought them to other agricultural products, especially olive oils. The association AVPA (Association pour la Valorisation des Produits Agricoles) was created and the contest for edible oils began. Over the year this competition has set standards among the industry while working hand in hand with researchers to remain the spearhead of taste oriented best practices. All the other competitions follow the same path.

A competition for tea was brewing in their mind for a while, particularly keeping in mind the growing interest for this beverage in the country. With the legacy of two successful contests behind them and their strong association for origin of products – “Teas of the World” contest is created – a contest that emphasizes on the traceability of the teas or its origin.

 

“Contests must be a means, not an end: a springboard towards more events oriented towards the general public and hospitality professionals, who are the ones making changes in the way society drinks tea, and also the ones most lacking in reliable information and opportunities to taste great teas.” says Lauren Pascault, who takes care of the “Teas of the World” contest as the Contest Lead at AVPA.  Lauren has previously worked as tea salesperson with Dammann Frères (an ancient company with its origins – as they claim – going back to the days of Louis XIV, but in modern times it helped usher in the French tea revolution) and now runs her own tea consulting and event creation business.

The story of the Teas of the World Contest will not be complete without mentioning two very important ladies in the shadows: Marcela Thimonier and Ksenia Kashirskaya, who are in charge of the day-to-day administrative work, communications and contest coordination, making sure that it takes place as it is envisioned.

“The joy is that it (tea) is all for the French a re-discovery. For centuries we have had no real contact with tea. So unlike British, we formed no habits. This means we can learn about tea as a pure, new product.” Didier Jumeau-Lafond, Dammann Teas quips.

Well, the French has opened their doors and their hearts – teas of the world –  it’s now your opportunity to embrace this newly converted land of love.

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Teas of the World Contest Registration: https://www.avpa.fr/thes-en

Registration Open until 15th June 2018

 

About AVPA:

The AVPA (Agence pour la Valorisation des Produits Agricoles) is a non-profit, non-governmental association that promotes high-quality products of origin through contests. It started 15 years ago with the contest for edible oils (mainly olive), and went on with coffee (6th year in 2018), water (2d year) and tea (1st year).

Tea Tasting and Evaluation for a Tea Startup

A new tea startup approached me sometimes back to help them with tea tastings and evaluation and help them with the right tea selection for their portfolio. I was happy to do so for them. I received 7 samples of tea –though I asked for only 4, and tried 5 of their teas.

The teas were sent to me in small plastic pouches, which interfered with the tea aromas giving them a little plastic smell. However, the tea inside didn’t lose its character much and the tasting went on good. I would not recommend packing teas in these kind of plastic pouches ever, particularly if you are sending it for trial or tasting purpose:

 

Here are my observations after tasting their teas:

Name of the Tea: EMCT – B9#

Aroma: A typical grassy green tea smell after the brew.

Flavour: A very strong bitter taste.

Brewing Time:  2-3 min.

Comments: The tea looks like grass blades and is very smooth and silky to touch. The bitter taste was very strong and it stayed for a while on the tongue and mouth.

Pictures below:

 

Name of the Tea:  CTC – F MSD

Aroma: A very grassy smell which was not very pleasant on the nose; however green tea lovers may like it.

Flavour: For such a strong smelling tea, the taste was very smooth. I was quite surprised by it.

Brewing Time:  2 min.

Comments: Dried / just bit smoky smell when you smell the leaves. Comparable to most good green teas (not tea bags) available in the market.

Pics below:

 

Name of the Tea: 95101 – 174C530

Aroma: A very intense smell.

Flavour: Tastes more like an oolong tea

Brewing Time:  3 min.

Comments: The tea is all whole dry leaves with stem. A darker brew than a traditional green tea; quite different than the most available in the market. Can be positioned as nice and different green tea.

Pics below:

Name of the Tea: CTCS – 17A6528

Aroma: A very raw, oily smell after the brew; nice dry grass smell as whole leaf.

Flavour: Mild to strong in taste, but smooth with a very interesting flavour.

Brewing Time:  2 min.

Comments:  Darker brew. Tea is all dried whole leaves. A nice relaxing tea, though more oolong-ish than green after brew.

Pics Below:

Name of the Tea: MSDCTC S

Aroma: The lose leaf has a kind of a semi dried smell, while the brew is little smoky.

Flavour: A very non green tea taste, good for those who like a little darker brew.

Brewing Time:  2 min.

Comments: The lose tea looks like tea granules; it nicely opens up when brewed. A nice refreshing tea. Recommended.

Pics below:

 

Final comments:

I liked most of your teas; though found a couple of them are more like Oolong tea than green tea. However, I also feel that most of your green teas can be positioned as premium green teas and sold to the real tea connoisseurs rather than to those following the green tea fad with major focus on the price, packaging and delivery.

 

If you want me to taste / evaluate your teas, please write to me at itsourcuppatea@gmail.com

 

A brief history of Tea in India

The history of tea is as fascinating as the history of mankind. Some believe that tea was first ‘discovered’ some 4000 years ago in China when a king, who was sleeping under a tree had kept his hot cup of water, right next to him, to be taken when he woke up. The story goes that some leaves of the tree, under which he was sleeping, fell on the hot boiling water. When the king woke up he found the leaves floating on the water, the colour changed and a beautiful aroma coming out of it. He took a sip to see what that aroma tasted like and he was amazed. He fell in love with the brew! The rest, as they say is history.

While this is a very convincing story about the invention of tea as a beverage from China, many a tea historians are now saying that tea was also very popular in India around the same time. The Indian tea, however, were more herb based with lots of premium spices which were brewed together for a fine pix of delicate aroma, excellent flavour and requisite health benefits. The tea, those days in India, were truly the drinks of the royalty. And saffron, cardamom and basil were some of our choices spices and herbs.

However, credit should be given to the British who made this Asian drink a truly global beverage. Such was their love for tea that when they couldn’t get tea from China, they picked up some Chinese Tea Plants (Camellia Sinesis) and planted them in high altitude Himalayas in the Darjeeling. Slowly tea cultivation moved to other parts of India like Assam, Nilgiris, Himachal and neighbouring country like Sri Lanka; and in no time, tea became one of the most profitable cash crops for the British empire from India.

The Indian citizens, however, took time to get used to the British tea, and it was not until middle of 20th entury that Indians, mainly the elite class Bengalis, took to teas as a regular beverage. Until then Indians were still having their herbal teas mixed and brewed in their homes.

The British, unlike the French, love to have their tea with a hint of milk and a dash of sugar. India converted to milk tea; and perhaps, due to the love and faith that Indians have on milk and its health attributes, it slowly became a cooked, boiled tea in milk and sugar, rather than the brewed tea that the British sip.

 

A cup of Tea

The Chai

This cooked tea that we drink everyday at home, and which we lovingly call, the Chai, or the Kadak Chai, is good for your morning bowel movement perhaps, but it kills all the goodness of tea. Chai, after all is a concoction of milk, water, sugar with pinch of dusty tea. And it’s sad that while we produce some of the best and most premium whole teas in the world, we end up drinking the tea that are neither good for our health, nor are they premium. Many problems like indigestion, bloated stomach, laziness, blood sugar, etc comes from this milk tea with sugar.

The time has come for us to switch over to the healthy teas that are brewed correctly, and take pride of the finest teas that we produce in India that the world die for.

My Tea Workshop with Lloyd’s Tea House, Chennai

Lloyd’s Tea House is a well know tea room in Chennai –  you can say that this is the go-to place for all tea lovers in this land of coffee. Run by investment Banker Pavan Mahtani and his very accomplished baker wife, Lloyd’s Tea House, I found, is a buzzing joint filled with happy customers with air infused with the brewing teas.

I understood that this is the first time ever that the city of Chennai was hosting a Tea Appreciation workshop; and while I was surprised, I was truly honored to be the one conducting this maiden event.

Since tea is not a very understood beverage in Chennai (as well as in India), the workshop was an introduction to various types teas, aromas and flavours, how to taste teas and a basic introduction to tea and food pairing. I was pleasantly surprised to see a house full of attendants who participated attentively throughout the entire 75 min session. These are the teas that we tried with their paired food:

1. White : Second flush Castleton: paired with : Vol –au -vents
2. Oolong: Hari ghatta: paired with hash brown potatoes
3. Black: Temi Second Flush: paired with corn cheese balls
4. Herbal: Himalayan Rhapsody: paired with strawberry cup cake
5. Flowery : Chamomile: paired with lemon cake

The workshop went well, and was much appreciated. I was happy that each one of the participants went back home with at least one new learning about tea, which, I am hoping, would bring them close to this wonderful beverage.

I can’t end this note without mentioning the hospitality I received from the host and hostess. Right from picking me up from the airport to the well thought out breakfast box in the car, to my favourite dosa lunch, everything was well thought off and showed their generosity. They even had booked a hotel room for me for the day in case I need to take rest or freshen up. It was a wonderful experience and one that I would remember for years to come. And I hope to return to Chennai sometime soon with more tea workshops.

Thank you for this wonderful experience.

 

“Love at first sip” – the story of her cuppa

“I was a coffee drinker all my love until I came to Smart iDeAS! Then something happened – an interesting and unexpected change that turned me into a tea lover. How I still remember the fights I used to have with my mom for fixing me tea instead of coffee as she was a tea drinker!

Would you believe if I say, there is a close relation between my  acquired love for tea and my career?  As part of my interview at Smart iDeAS, I was asked to write an essay with three key words : tea, bliss and premium . Since I was a coffee drinker it was a challenge for me to write about tea. But tea didn’t cheat me, I got through the interview and, perhaps, my interest in tea began from there.  Once I got placed, I got to know that Susmita is also a tea lover;  and then  I got the opportunity to work for  a premium tea brand from London, as part of my assignment.  Rest, as they say, is history!

When I started researching on tea, I realised tea is a vast and huge subject and I had not even tasted a real tea!

One afternoon, when we quickly finished our work, Susmita took me to a tea lounge nearby and asked me to order any tea that I would like to try. There everything was new to me and with lot of curiosity I ordered Vanilla Oolong tea. That was the moment I realised that tea is the most beautiful and romantic drink comparable only to wine may be. I fell in love with tea at that moment.  After that every evening that I spent with Susmita at her house, she made me some real tea which she calls her “own recipe”.  “— Pearl, Born in Kerala, raised on coffee.

 

All Teas are good for Your Health!

You heard me right!

All teas are good for your health, unless you kill them by adding loads of milk and sugar!

Tea has the following health benefits, irrespective of its type  – that is, white, green, black or oolong :

1. Tea contains antioxidants

2. Tea has less caffeine than coffee

3. Tea may reduce your risk of heart attack by reducing your bad cholesterol

4. Tea help with weight loss

5. Tea helps protect your bones and teeth

7. Tea boosts the immune system

8. Tea may help battle cancer

9. Herbal tea may soothe the digestive system

10. Tea — unadulterated, that is — is calorie free

But as I said, it all depends on how to make and take your tea.

Now, would you let go of this wonder beverage from your life?

Tea & Wine – they are more similar than you thought.

Yes! You got it right.

Tea is very similar to wine, though more complex, when it comes to the appreciation and food pairing process.

As a good wine can be measured buy its ‘body’ and ‘aroma’, so is tea.

The difference you need to keep in mind is that wines come from various varieties of grapes, while Tea comes from only one plant. Isn’t that incredible!

 

My Story and Cuppa

Growing up in a Bengali family in Kolkata allowed me to get access to the world of tea at a very early age. My father is a tea lover and I occasionally used to visit the tea stores in various parts of Kolkata in search of the perfect blend, along with him.

Over the last four years, this love for tea has enabled me to start my tea group in Bangalore called Its Our Cuppa Tea. With more than 1200 members in the group, it is one of the largest tea appreciation groups in Bangalore.

The objective of the group is to spread awareness about Indian Tea that comes from various parts of the country, learn about the tea basics, make it a part of a healthy lifestyle and celebrate it as a fascinating drink only to be compared with the best wines from across the globe. As the Group owner and a Tea Appreciator, I have been conducting regular tea appreciating and pairing workshops for the last 3 years. My passion for tea, takes me all across the country to some of the best tea brands as well the estates – from Nilgiris to Darjeeling. I am now working with some of the smaller tea plantation owners of Nilgiris to help them market their tea and bring out some of their specialty tea into the market. I also do regular tea tastings when a new tea is launched into the market.

Few media coverage of our tea group’s activities:

Bangalore Mirror: http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/columns/sunday-read/brew-with-benefits/amp_articleshow/57469381.cms

Economic Times: http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31815&articlexml=Tea-Clubs-in-City-Teach-Tea-Lovers-the-01022017002038#

Deccan Chronicle : http://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/viral-and-trending/180316/chai-k-mates-all.html

Bangalore Mirror: http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/columns/you/Chitchat-over-chai/articleshow/51958590.cms

I shall be very happy to conduct a tea workshop for you, your company or for your friends. You can reach me at itsourcuppatea@gmail.com

All for Tea!