Picture by Pabitra Das

If you have enough designer threads, designer shoes, designer bags and designer smiles, then why not try some designer tea? Tea connoisseur Dolly Roy has introduced a range of exotic teas for those who like their hot cuppa. The variety at Dolly’s Tea Shop includes Stupa Tea, Pearl Tea, and Green Flower Tea. “Tea is a product with infinite variety and is very open to experimentation,” feels Dolly. These new products, part of Dolly’s attempt to “give tea a new look and feel”, come from the Gopaldhara Tea Estate in Darjeeling. Like flower tea, the Dakshinapan store does not serve these varieties at the teashop but they are sold in pretty gift bags. A 50 g pack of this speciality tea is priced at Rs 500.

“Pearl Tea is a huge success in the city. People love to see how the tiny tea balls turn into their two-leaves-and-bud form when dipped in warm water. But I am more the Stupa Tea person,” smiles Dolly. She also feels that it is the younger generation that is more comfortable with trying out these new products. “Foreigners are fascinated to find out that India is experimenting so much with tea,” adds Calcutta’s ace taster. The designer teas, as Dolly calls them, undergo minimal fermentation and chemical treatment. “Tea and especially white tea is a very healthy drink.”