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Something's brewing here
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Where drinking a cup of tea is a rare experience
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CALM IN THE TEA CUP A view of Tranquilitea
No! Ne'er was mingled such a draught
In palace, hall or arbor,
As freeman brewed and tyrants quaffed,
That night in Boston Harbour
Ballad of the Boston Tea Party
Oliver Wendell Holmes
(1809 - 94)
Not far from Sims Park, in Coonoor, Nilgiris there is tea being brewed in an old bungalow with gabled roof, climbing creepers and all, built in 1894 It is called Strathearn, which is Scottish for Valley of the River. It is not your run of the mill chai wallah, oh no. It is called Tranquilitea and it is a tea-lounge. A fireplace, a mantelpiece and cosy armchairs just beg you to make yourself comfortable and decide how you would like your tea. Hand-made paper menu cards list a long list of teas that are available (there are as many varieties of tea in the world as there are wines, Sandeep Subramani the young owner of Tranquilitea enlightens you). There are cookies, quiches, pancakes, waffles and sandwiches to go with your beverage. "A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand", announces the menu card as you try to pick the least sinful goodie of them all. The decision is taken out of your hands as a plateful of warm, just-out-of-the oven, cinnamon cookies make their way to your table. And then begins the tea ceremony.
Tranquilitea prides itself on the fact that the finest teas in the world are served here. Glass carafes with tea liqueur in colours ranging from pale topaz to a deep claret are ceremoniously brought out with a plate of lemon wedges and a bowl of sugar.
The silvertips tealeaves are plucked only at dawn and retain a velvety down on their surface. This is top of the line tea retailing at Rs. 4,000 a kg. For those who enjoy regular tea there is orthodox tea and for the health buff, green tea and a range of organic tea. Sandeep explains to you that all tea is good for health unless drowned in milk and sugar.
If you have company this is a great place to hang out. If you are a loner then also you are in the right place. There are books strewn all around — don't be surprised if you see a visitor giggling to himself behind the covers of a P.G Wodehouse! Or may be it is the tea-infused truffles that is doing that.
But seriously, Tranquilitea seems just the place where you feel you could dash off a great love letter or compose an ode or two, if not write an entire novel. Tall trees, verdant hills, flowers, birds and the splendid weather can actually make this dream come true.
The nice thing is that everywhere inside the tea-lounge there is something pretty to look at. Paintings, beautifully crafted stained glass mobiles in the shapes of butterflies, birds and beetles, pottery made by the Kota tribe, and of course tea — beautifully packed in miniature wooden tea-chests and Toda embroidered bags are perfect souvenirs. Everything here is locally made. You can take home tea with precise directions on how to brew each variety.
A value added service that Tranquilitea offers is organising treks for nature lovers in association with wildlife and environment associations. And if you are a regular, they may help you source organically grown fruits and vegetables as well. A trip to Tranquilitea, and your cuppa brimmeth over.
A website at www.tranquilitea.in is being launched shortly to enable a virtual visit to the place and to shop for the finest teas online.
PANKAJA SRINIVASAN
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