What: An evening tea party to celebrate the launch of tea caddies
Where: Flurys, Park Street
Available at: All Flurys outlets, inlcluding the ones at Calcutta airport
In the box: The caddies come in blue, green and peach shades, packing in three most popular teas — Darjeeling, Green and Assam, respectively.
Why sell tea caddies? “At Flurys, tea is still served the old British style, with creamer and strainer on the table. For a long time, guests have been wanting to take some tea back. With tea-drinking gaining a lot of traction all over the world, we thought of selling the tea we serve,” said Flurys chef Vikas Kumar, who has been associated with almost all aspects of launching the caddies — from selection of leaves to packaging.
Teacup tally: “On a typical day, we sell anywhere between 350 and 400 cups of tea, with Darjeeling second flush being the most in demand, followed by Assam and Green tea,” said chef Vikas.
Pocket pinch: Rs 180 for Assam tea, Rs 280 for Green tea, Rs 350 for Darjeeling tea. All caddies contain 100g tea.
“I love tea and my cuppa has to be Darjeeling. My dad used to be very finicky about his tea. I remember when we lived in Arunachal Pradesh, we used to get only Assam tea. So my dad made sure cartons from Makaibari tea estate were couriered so that he could have his Darjeeling tea,” said actress Parno Mittra.
Pianist Jennifer Heemstra and husband Cory Wilcox, management officer, US Consulate General, raised a toast to good tea at the adda. “I am more of a coffee person, but I like tea as well. Jennifer is an absolute tea lover,” said Cory.
Scenographer Swarup Dutta and fashion designer Priyanka Khanna caught up over cups of Darjeeling tea. “This is the best part of having tea in Calcutta — the adda is a must! I have been coming to Flurys for many years now and their Darjeeling tea is my favourite,” said Priyanka.
tea bites: Dark Chocolate Cupcakes, Mini Hazelnut Eclairs, Lemon Meringue Tartlets and freshly baked Orange and Sultana Scones gave tough competition to the savoury spread that included Spinach-Onion-Cheddar Quiche, mini Garlic Sausage Puff and Asparagus Rolls.
“I am a dedicated tea drinker. I don’t have coffee. And Darjeeling tea is my first preference. I am not into green tea though. I love sipping a piping hot cup of freshly brewed Darjeeling tea. It’s therapeutic!” said actress Swastika Mukherjee who came with daughter Anwesha, who prefers iced tea.
