A delightful little ceremony at Tea World in Panampilly Nagar introduces me to Rooibos. Leaves of the South African herbal tea are placed in a glass tea pot over which is poured rolling boiling water. A tea candle is lit underneath; an hourglass timer is set to four minutes.
As the hourglass empties out, steeped leaves begin to give off a russet hue that slowly colours the bubbling water dark and strong. Monu Nair,Operations Manager, says “This is one from the 365 varieties and blends we have on offer,” as he pours the tea into bespoke doubled mould glass cups. Launched in December 2022 the tea cafe was set up with an aim to introduce “a new scenario for tea in Kerala.”
Tea World’s setting and menu are very different from the State’s roadside tea shops, traditionally a meeting place for people from all walks of life. Their wooden benches, bunches of hanging bananas and deep fried snacks set in a vintage glass cabinet have been celebrated in Malayalam cinema and literature for decades.
These tea stalls typically serve CTC Dust tea, popular for its colour, strength and cuppage. (A kilogram of dust tea gives approximately 500 cups of tea.) The chaya is accompanied by snacks like pazhampori (banana fritters), uzhunnu vada , parippu vada and unnakaya (spindle shaped plantain sweet)
Post COVID-19, Kochi has welcomed a mushrooming of cafes centered around tea: Tea Nation (Panampilly Nagar), Tea Time (Kacheripady), Tea Souk (Kaloor), Tea Town(COPT Avenue), Tea Cube (Kadavanthara) and more. They are introducing the city to a world of exotic new blends.
Artisanal teas
“We have almost 500 blends but we kept it to the magic number,365. A tea for each day of the year,”says Sajimon Parayil, the man behind Tea World. Categorized into Elementary, Floral, Herbal, Wellness, Himalayan herbals and Taste of India teas, the choices here are a plenty.
Sajimon, who is also a film producer adds that the teas at the cafe are single estate origin sourced from from Munnar and the Nilgiris. “They are naturally and organically processed, and the blends are approved by the Tea Board of India,” he says. Their signature, Yogi tea is a blend of golden tips (unopened leaves) with ashwagandha, Korean ginseng, Africa Matcha, Kashmiri saffron, Meghalaya turmeric and more. “We add 16 powders to milk that’s boiled for half hour and added to tea,” says Sajimon.
They also serve imported teas like the Yerba Mate of Argentina, Rooibos from South Africa and Kenyan Purple tea. The menu is creative, listing egg white omelettes topped with a choice of Blue pea, Machta, Hibiscus or Chamomile powders. Or try their tapioca almond tart, a Kerala fusion snack.
Tea that is a vibe
Booster Chaya in Vennala opened in 2020 with a motto to “provide perfect vibe to people.” It now has 14 outlets across Kochi, which are open till 2am. Mubeen Maheem, the founder says their signature is the Booster Chaya, which is similar to a chai latte.
“Branded cafes serve teas and coffees that are unaffordable. Our idea was to reach out to everyone and keep the pricing low,” says Mubeen adding that teas, coffees and cold beverages at the outlet start at ₹10, while the most expensive item on his menu is ₹150. He adds that he banks on a “quantity” of sales to keep up the “quality” of ingredients.
The kiosks are hyper local when it comes to snacks. While the snack menu is different in each area, in response to customer preferences, Mubeen says he has been noticing that momos are doing well now.
Tea Stop on Thangal Road serves a variety of teas from a customised tea cart, a template seen across the city’s tea joints. Tea dust in a muslin bag is immersed in a large bronze Samovar and boiled continuously to form a strong brew. An attractive, old style vessel the brew from the Samovar is added to a variety of teas , like Special Sulemani tea and Booster Chaya. The latter is prepared by adding spices and chocolate powders. They also offer Saffron, Ginger, Green, Black and Masala tea. Along with traditional snacks, one can have chicken cutlet and veg samosa. The outlet has three branches in the city.
“Tea is trending,” says Eldho Madaparambil of Perayittilla Oru Sadharan Chaya Peedika (An unnamed ordinary tea shop) that opened in May 2022, in Panampilly Nagar (4th Cross Road). The “funny and catchy” named outlet recreates the vintage tea shop in art on the walls and serves traditional chaya and kadi. “A tea shop is a small investment with good returns,” says Eldho, a partner in the business He points out that there is a huge surge in tea cart business, especially in the outskirts of the city. According to him the Samovar tea or the regular milk tea is most popular at ₹15 and the special chaya - lime, mint, ginger flavoured teas at ₹ 18. “Tea is a sensitive beverage, some like it sweet, some want it black....so much so that everybody associates a good glass of tea to having a good day.”
