Who said kids don’t drink tea? Siona and (right) Saanvi enjoyed every sip of their Tea Sangria with strawberry and black currant flavours from Cha Bar.

Ahana likes tea but “not too much” while her sister-in-law (right) Sreshtha is a “tea fanatic”. “I had no idea that there could be so many varieties. I am sure many people do not know there’s something called white tea!” said Ahana. Sreshtha was more than happy to see GenY taking an interest in tea. “Tea seems to be more of a passion for our parents’ generation. However, I am glad to find a lot of youngsters here trying tea,” she said, while sipping Darjeeling Mint Julep (iced tea) from Dolly’s Tea Shop.

Hidco chairman-cum-managing director Debashis Sen dropped in at the Chai Festival and his first stop was The Tea Trove. Sipping a glass of Tea Frappe, Sen shared with Metro his best tea memory. “Whenever I think of tea, the images of Batasia Loop, the mist and the tea gardens and buying tea from the Makaibari estate on our way to Pankhabari come to mind,” said Sen, whose day “doesn’t start without tea and I have innumerable cups at work”. “I am glad that people are taking interest in tea again. I am also very fond of gifting tea. It is a great and interesting gift,” he said.

Friends Deepsankar Sen and Tiaas Sanyal loved the Chilli Chai from The Tea Trove. “I generally like green tea and oolong tea at home,” said Tiaas, while trying a cup of Darjeeling First Flush from Dolly’s Tea Shop.

They are a bunch of tea tasters in training. (From left) Mahasweta, Madhumanti, Nishant and Ruby had come to the festival on Friday to check out the different varieties on offer. Ruby’s son Nathan (extreme right) also joined them on the tea trail. Their verdict? “We loved the Darjeeling tea at the Mission Hill stall.”

Pictures: Chanchal Ghosh and Anindya Shankar Ray