The Apricot Ceylon tea at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

Would you like a cup of fresh black tea infused with the aroma of cinnamon or cloves? Or maybe you’d prefer a gentler green tea, scented with fruits like strawberries or peach? How about a sip of white tea blended with rose petals for a touch of sweetness?

Flavoured teas are the toast of the season. They come in different unique blends — think tea infused with fruit, flower and herbal oils or with natural ingredients like whole spices. And thanks to a growing chain of importers, manufacturers and café owners, there’s a huge assortment out there if you’re looking to perk up your tea experience. “We’re all taken in by the coffee culture of the west. Drinking tea should be made popular in India, and flavoured teas can make that happen,” says Los Angeles-based Devan Shah, CEO of Chado Tea and International Tea Importers.

The reasons for the growing popularity of flavoured teas aren’t hard to understand. They’re highly popular abroad and Indians who travel regularly are picking up the habit of having, for instance, a late night green tea as a relaxant. Add to that serious health consciousness amongst the younger generation and you’ll know why they’re growing popular.

ITC-Welcomgroup's range of blended teas promises to be a visual treat

Dolly Roy, one of Calcutta’s most popular tea connoisseurs and owner of Dolly’s Tea Shop says that the popularity of flavoured teas has grown tremendously in recent months. “These teas are most popular with youngsters who’re willing to experiment with exotic flavours,” says Roy.

Even a corporate giant like ITC-Welcomgroup Hotels is getting into the flavoured tea act. They will launch a range of flavoured teas across its hotels in India over the next six months — from fruit tea and cinnamon tea to the regular Earl Grey — displayed in a fine wooden menu box, so customers know what they’re drinking. Says Muckth Dogra, F&B Manager and tea custodian for ITC Sonar: “Tea shouldn’t only act as a stimulant for the body and mind. It must also appeal to your senses.”

But one of the most crucial factors behind the growing popularity of flavoured teas is that it’s considered to be healthy. Says Radhika Batra, a Mumbai-based specialty tea consultant: “Tea is a very healthy beverage since it’s high on anti-oxidants. Add to that herbs or spices and you have a drink that you just can’t go wrong with.” And don’t think about adding milk because it tends to reduce the health benefits of tea.

TEA OR TISANE?

Cha Bar at Oxford Bookstore has more than 79 varieties of flavoured tea on its menu

There’s often confusion about the difference between tisanes or herbal teas and flavoured teas. But the distinction is essential. Tea comes from the camellia sinensis plant only (much like wine that only come from grapes), while tisanes are infusions made from various herbs, fruits and flowers, but without any derivatives from camellia sinensis. These are called infusions because they are steeped in water, like tea. A common example of a tisane is chamomile tea — an extremely healthy drink, which includes steeping chamomile flowers in warm water.

Naturally flavoured teas combine both these categories — they are a blend of herbs, fruits or flowers with tea. From chunks of dehydrated fruits, flowers like jasmine, rose and chrysanthemum to whole spices like cardamom and cloves and leaves of herbs like peppermint and tulsi, there’s a lot to choose from. Take for instance jasmine tea, which is tea leaves blended with actual jasmine flowers or cinnamon tea, which is bits of cinnamon mixed with loose tea.

However, not all flavoured teas come with actual ingredients — some of them are infused with natural oils and essences. The most common example of this variety is Earl Grey tea, which is tea blended with oil from the rind of bergamot oranges.

The green tea, orange and guava margarita at Cha Bar

Characterised by heady aromas — an intrinsic part of this experience —flavoured teas are unique in taste, and excellent stimulants. Their concoctions can be consumed hot or cold, and combine the best qualities of tea and the fruits, herbs or spices. So you could sip on some peppermint green tea after your meal, to aid digestion or simply have something light on a hot summer day to soothe your senses (a jasmine tea should do the trick).

ON THE SHELVES

There is a riot of flavours to choose from in tea these days — in loose form as well as in tea bags (which tend to be more popular with youngsters). “Nobody has the time these days to steep tea the old-fashioned way. Tea bags aren’t time-consuming, so they tend to be a bigger hit amongst younger people,” says Kiran N. Desai, vice president, Tata Tea. The company’s range of flavoured black-tea tea bags (masala, ginger, lemon, tulsi-lemon and elaichi) and flavoured green-tea tea bags (lemon-honey and lemon ginger mint) are very popular. Their latest offering is a flavoured tea-based drink called Tion. It’s hip and trendy and comes in mango, apple, peach and orange flavours. Tion is currently available only in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.

Manjushree Plantations’ flavoured green-tea tea bags are very popular

Also making its presence felt is Typhoo, from the Apeejay Surrendra Group. Typhoo’s flavoured-tea repertoire includes flavours like Earl Grey, masala and lime and lemon and there are two more flavours to be launched by April — cardamom and ginger. “We’ve set a target to come up with at least 10 different flavours,” says Renu Kakkar, vice president, corporate communications.

Newby Tea will also be making its debut in the Indian retail segment by April with its range of orthodox and flavoured teas. Look out for their mango and strawberry tea, which comes with ample helpings of mango and strawberry chunks. A deep rose in colour, you actually don’t need to strain this tea as you simply chew the fruits as you drink it.

However, if you’re looking for flavours that are off the beaten track, go for teas by Golden Tips and Manjushree Plantations. Golden Tips, an old hand in the tea business, has quite a range up its sleeve — both in loose form and in tea bags. Think handcrafted white teas blended with Himalayan rose petals or spring rose blossoms on one hand and mango, peach and jasmine flavoured tea bags on the other. Says Madhav Sarda, managing director: “The gradual awareness about tea and its benefits has been responsible for people taking to flavoured teas.” He also emphasises how healthy these teas are — while white tea is known for its high anti-oxidant content, rose petals, for example, are rich in Vitamin C.

(From above) There’s a wide assortment of flavoured teas available at Golden Tips’ tea boutique; Chado Tea’s range of flowering teas include the White Jasmine Moon Tea; Taj Bengal serves up jellies infused with Earl Grey tea

Manjushree Plantations of the B. K. Birla Group, relatively new to the packaged tea business, has also decided to target the flavoured-tea-drinking category aggressively. “Our regular customers demanded that we produce peppermint and chamomile green teas,” says Gagnendra Jha, senior manager, tea. The company’s repertoire also includes green-tea tea bags flavoured with fruit essences like pineapple, raspberry, blueberry and strawberry as well as masala, cardamom and ginger teas.

BOUTIQUE TALK

If you are really keen on trying out new and different flavours it might be a good idea to visit one of the handful of tea boutiques that are coming up. These are specialised boutiques where you can sift through a massive assortment of teas, taste them and even get them gift-wrapped for special occasions.

Golden Tips Tea recently opened its tea boutique at City Centre Mall, Rajarhat. It stocks up on a huge variety of tea — sold loose and in tea bags. You could go for their interesting range of flower-based teas or if you’re not feeling bold, just settle for a nice fruit-flavoured tea to ease yourself in.

Mumbai too has its share of exotic teas, available at the Chado Tea stalls at PVR, Lower Parel and at the Bombay Store in Fort. The Bombay Store stocks nearly 130 varieties of tea and is a branch of Chado Tea Room, US. One of Cha-do’s specialties is its flowering teas — a unique concept in which whole flowers or flower petals are ensconced within tea leaves stitched together in a ball-like form. Once steeped in warm water, the tea leaves open up, revealing the flower within. Their top choices include the White Jasmine Moon Tea (with white tea, jasmine and chrysanthemum) and the Lychee Flower Basket (with green tea and jasmine).

Newby too plans to launch a chain of tea boutiques. But there’s a twist in the tale. “Not only will our customers get the usual flavoured teas, but they can also mix and match their teas with any flavour they like,” says Bhaskar Singha, CEO, Newby Teas Overseas.

FROM CAFéS TO GASTRONOMY

If you’d rather get out of the house for a special cup of chai, hit one of the niche cafés that take their teas very seriously.

On top of the list is Cha Bar nestling in Oxford Bookstores across India. The Cha Bar offers 79 different varieties of flavoured teas.

So you could try the purple rose tea, which is first flush Darjeeling tea flavoured with elderberries and rose. Alternatively, there’s the jasmine pearl tea (a mild green tea blended with jasmine) or the strawberry flavoured tea, rich with the sweet fragrance of strawberries and cream. And if you really want to go over the top, go for the sinful range of dessert teas (blended with chocolate, caramel or even coconut chips).

Move on to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf or CBTL as it’s popularly known, a premium café chain that opened its first Calcutta outlet about two months ago at Forum mall. Amit Maheshwari, head, operations, says that sales of flavoured teas have zoomed. He offers exotic blends for customers including green tea flavoured with cherries and also black, oolong and green teas blended with pomegranates and blueberries. There are also Ceylon black teas infused with flavours like apricot, passion fruit and vanilla.

Also making a strong health statement are the flavoured teas at The Champagne Lounge in The Oberoi, Mumbai. Take your pick from a handcrafted Chinese tea scented with jasmine flowers or a soft green tea blended with chamomile and peppermint to soothe your nerves. There’s also the extremely popular Kashmiri kahwa, infused beautifully with saffron, cinnamon and cardamom.

Even chefs across the country are whipping up a culinary storm with flavoured teas. Take the smoked duck infused with jasmine tea or even fruit jellies infused with Earl Grey at Taj Bengal. On the other hand, Sharad Dewan, director, food production at The Park Calcutta, has been experimenting with flavoured tea-cupcakes, cookies, biscotti and even ice creams.

Photographs by Rashbehari Das