The secret of the Soviet elephant. Why did they drink fake Indian tea in the USSR? Elephant tea is the traditional name for black tea.

TEA from DARJEELING

I love tea very much, as does my whole family. I have a positive attitude towards coffee, but I can do without it, without tea - no. Apparently this love was laid down in childhood. I remember well how my parents during the Soviet era were happy when they had the opportunity to purchase real Indian tea “with an elephant”. Now I understand that this was probably not the best blend of Indian tea, but it was an order of magnitude superior to the then commercially available Georgian, Krasnodar and even Ceylon tea, although Ceylon tea was also considered a “deficit” (in my opinion, Ceylon tea is not much better than Georgian and scarcity was determined by its rarity). Indian tea very often carried by conductors in trains long distance, until paper bags of impossible tea conquered everything and everyone. In any case, there was no better Indian tea in the USSR.

The fact that Ceylon tea is nothing special, I was convinced already in today's times during a trip to Sri Lanka (Ceylon). I was struck by several things: firstly, there was no good tea in restaurants (only bags), and secondly, the local population practically does not drink tea, and if they do, it is rarely with milk. I just understand this, since with milk all the taste qualities are muffled and the drink becomes quite tolerable. And after visiting the tea plantation and factory, seeing how tea is collected and processed, I only made sure that there is nothing good from tea in Ceylon.

And although a pretty girl guide tried to tell me what wonderful tea they have (and they produce as many as eight gradations in quality), to my question, where can I buy the most wonderful tea, she replied that it is not sold in Sri Lanka everything is exported.

But since I was determined, she said that in their special tea cafe I can get the best varieties, but only expensive. Already in the cafe, I asked to bring me the top four gradations of tea (the lowest, the eighth, is just dust collected from the floor during processing, the top one is “Golden Tips”).

After the tasting, I realized that I would leave Ceylon without tea at all, I would not even take it as a souvenir to my friends.

Until the last moment, I brought myself good tea from Nepal, from high mountain plantations near the Indian Darjeeling. I must say that in Nepal I sat in a tea shop for almost the whole day, trying different teas, until I chose what I liked. I was very surprised by the price - the best tea cost about 3,000 rupees, that is, about 60 dollars per kilogram. And for the local population, these were unacceptable prices, and these teas were bought mostly by tourists, mainly from Russia - which the owner of the shop told me with pleasure. Since 2000, my wife and I have been to Nepal about once every two years, and I brought 4-5 kg ​​of tea, which, in general, was enough. Yes, even friends sometimes brought. Everything would be fine, but in Nepal the Maoist communists came to power and all the owners of decent shops were forced to leave for India so that they would not be taken away and robbed.

By this time, in Russia, and in St. Petersburg, in particular, there was an incredible amount of tea, although for some reason it was mostly Chinese. And the one I liked was pretty hard to buy. And if found, then the prices were almost exorbitant.

At this time, friends invited me to the store" The whole world” on the 3rd line of Vasilievsky Island, where there was a huge selection of Chinese teas - from exclusive (and expensive) to ordinary ones.

Having visited this establishment several times, I have tried most of their tea collection - and I did not like anything. After looking at the names of teas that I more or less liked, the owner of the establishment said that I needed to look for teas from Darjeeling, which, in general, I already knew. Since they don't carry them (I didn't get an intelligible answer why - trade is a dark matter), I began to purposefully look for teas from Darjeeling.

Great Internet Deal! I found the site http://www.darjeelingteaxpress.com/, which still has a Russian version, and realized that I solved all my problems with tea.

This online store offers tea directly from Darjeeling with a huge assortment and at quite affordable prices. There are, however, expensive (up to $ 100 per 100g) exclusive teas, but they are exclusive for that, but if you really want to try, you can buy a trial 10 gram bag for a couple of dollars, and then - as you want and can.

By the way, trial 10 g bags can be purchased for all types of tea presented in the store. Highly quality tea costs $20-$40 per 100g, but there are also good teas of much lower cost. Even the cheapest tea in this store is classified as FTGFOP, some of the most expensive ones are SFTGFOP

There are 87 plantations in Darjeeling, the largest being Longwiew. Plantations are located mainly at altitudes from 1000 to 2500 meters above sea level.

Three quarters of the tea is exported, most of the exports go to the UK, Germany and Japan.

Every year the best tea is chosen and it is not always the same, but all manufacturers keep the bar high.

The "visiting card" of Darjeeling are nutmeg teas. In order for the nutmeg aroma to appear in tea, certain conditions are necessary: right choice varieties of the tea bush, location of the plantation (environment), collection (usually second) and, of course, specialists. Not every plantation can boast of nutmeg tea, and even within the same plantation, tea may or may not have nutmeg aroma and taste.

Retreat 1.Classification according to the type of tea leaf and how it is processed:

high-grade :

Tips tea. International marking - T (Tippy). From unblown tea buds (tips). Pure tips tea is extremely rare and very expensive.

Bake, he long leaf tea. International marking - P (Pekoe). Tea made from tips and the youngest leaves (usually the first two leaves). English word. pekoe is a corruption of the Chinese name pak-ho, meaning the white and golden hairs that cover only the buds and the youngest leaves. Thus, "pekoi" is a tea made from buds and leaves that have these villi. From the same Chinese word (bá ihuā in modern Chinese transcription) the Russian "baikhovy" also occurs.

Orange A generic name for high quality whole leaf teas. International marking - O (Orange). English word. orange has nothing to do with oranges or the color orange. This is an English tracing-paper from the name of the dynasty of the Princes of Orange (Dutch. Prins van Oranje). The Dutch in the 16th century were the largest suppliers of tea. The best varieties of tea went to the court of the stadtholders. Thus, “orange” is “tea delivered to the court”, “ royal tea". Orange class tea is made only from whole twisted leaves, usually the youngest ones.

Orange Pekoy. International marking - OP (Orange Pekoe). The general name for mixtures of teas that simultaneously correspond to the classes of pitch and orange. Regular Orange Pekoe does not contain tea buds (tips).

Orange pekoy with added tips is considered more upscale and is divided into the following categories:

  • FOP (Flowery Orange Pekoe). Top leaf tea (only the leaf closest to the kidney is taken) with the addition of tips.
  • GFOP (Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe).The same FOP, but with a higher content of tips.
  • TGFOP (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe).Yet more tips.
  • FTGFOP (Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe).Almost pure tips tea with minimal additions of tea leaves to add flavor and aroma.
  • SFTGFOP (Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe).
  • Very expensive high end FTGFOP

The shop offers teas from nearly thirty plantations in Darjeeling. These are the world-famous Badamtam, Jungpana, Kaselton, Nadezhda Margaret, Arya, Puttabong and others.

Since each plantation has its own microclimate and its own history, the tea grown on them has its own characteristic taste and smell. I was extremely proud when I was able to "blindly" identify several plantations and varieties of tea. It is clear that it is quite easy to identify white tea or oolong tea, but it is much more interesting when you can distinguish Turbo oolong from Jungpan oolong or black nutmeg tea from Kaselton plantation (my favorite) from black nutmeg tea from Sungma plantation.

Retreat 2.Classification according to the method of fermentation (oxidation)

White tea- goes through a minimum number of processing stages in the production process, therefore, it belongs to non-fermented. Usually it is withering and drying. Despite the name, white tea has a higher degree of fermentation (oxidation) than most green teas, therefore, it gives a darker infusion, contrary to its name.

Usually for white tea they collect only the youngest half-blown leaves of the first harvest, half-covered with short white hairs of an open tea bud (“bai hoa” - “white cilia”). For elite white teas, either only one apical leaf (more precisely, tips) is collected; or tipsa plus another leaf following it. The production of the vast majority of white teas consists of only two steps:

  1. The first step is a short-term exposure to steam (a kind of “calcination” for about 1 minute to stop the fermentation process; although some varieties of white tea are sometimes even slightly fermented or smoked in smoke),
  2. the second step is drying (more precisely, drying in ovens).

There are no twisted tea leaves in the finished tea, the finished dry brew looks like “loose dry leaves”. The finished tea should not have withered, broken, twisted and oxidized (black or brown) leaves. Essentially, the color of the leaves should remain the same (green or greyish green). White color the bottom of the leaves should be clearly visible.

After brewing, white tea has a pale yellow or greenish-yellow color, and a subtle floral, slightly "herbal" aroma. White tea is brewed necessarily soft and not too hot water(50-70°C). Because it has a special concentration of essential oils, giving it exquisite fragrance, then brewing with too hot water will kill these wonderful smells. Brewing time is extremely short, usually no more than 5 minutes.

White tea from Jungpan plantation

Bwhite tea Thurbo Moonlight first harvest

Green tea– often pre-fixed with steam at a temperature of 170 – 180°C; oxidation (fermentation) lasts no more than two days (reaches 2-3%), after which it usually stops by heating (in pots - this is customary in China; under steam - this is customary in Japan) or not carried out at all. After drying, the tea leaves are rolled.

At the final stage of green tea preparation, after rolling, the raw materials are dried, which allows stabilizing aromas and useful material tea, and becomes a natural green color. High-quality dried green tea should have no more than 4% moisture.

First Harvest Himalayan Green Tea

Wgreen tea from the Barnesburg plantation

Oolong or red tea— oxidation lasts from two to three days. The degree of fermentation of the leaves depends on the type of oolong and can vary from about 20% to 60% Once the desired level of fermentation is reached, the oxidation process must be immediately stopped (the raw material is placed in hot air).

Oolongs are most often made from mature leaves picked from mature tea bushes. Immediately after picking, the tea leaves are laid out in a thin layer on the ground (on special bamboo mats) under direct sunlight to wither and wither. Withering time from 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the temperature. Dried leaves are placed in a not very thick layer in large bamboo baskets and trays and put in the shade. Approximately every hour, the leaves are stirred and gently kneaded, trying not to break or chop them. After a while it repeats. The leaves are stirred until the following effect is achieved: the edges and crumpled parts of the leaves should turn red and brown (as if “rusted”) as a result of oxidation (i.e. fermentation), while the leaf veins and central parts of the leaves should stay green.

Ready oolongs - exclusively loose leaf teas. If under the guise of oolong they sell small-leaf tea (broken), then this is waste or a fake. Dry oolong tea leaves are large, twisted, dark brown (chestnut, sometimes red-brown) in color with a characteristic strong "spicy" aroma. Oolong brewing is a very delicate process. strongly depends on the variety of oolong, more precisely, on the degree of its fermentation. If oolong is little fermented, for example, about 20-30% ka, then the conditions for brewing it are closest to brewing green teas - hot water(not boiling water, but 60-80 ° C), brewing time 1-3 minutes. Heavily fermented oolongs take a little longer to brew: 2-5 minutes.

Oolong Gopaldhara Thunder

Black tea (called red tea in China)- the maximum possible enzymatic oxidation under the action of the tea leaf's own enzymes. It oxidizes completely, from two weeks to a month, although there are also shortened processes

Black nutmeg tea from Castleton

Black nutmeg tea harvested in autumn from the province of Jungpan

First Harvest Black Tea from Margarets Hope Plantation

There are also blends and flavored teas. If from the first (blend) there are still worthy examples, then I categorically do not like flavored teas. Among them, of course, there are also drinks that you can drink and they don’t get disgusted (like Lapsang Souchong or Earl Gray good manufacturer), but most of the flavored teas clearly give off chemistry.

There are, of course, exceptions. I really like masala chai green tea with basil and spices), especially with milk and sugar. It gives a lot of pleasure when you drink it tired or cold.

Masala tea

It should also be said that there are three main seasons for harvesting tea leaves, which are commonly referred to as the harvest. The first (spring), the second (summer) and the third (autumn). Each crop has its own characteristics.

Retreat 3.Classification of tea according to the season of harvest

There are spring, summer and autumn teas (first, second and third)

First collection harvested in mid-March, just after the rainy season. The tea of ​​this collection usually has a greenish tint and almost all the most expensive teas are spring harvest.

Summer (second) collection occurs in June, before the start of the monsoon season. The tea of ​​this collection is different dark color and fortress. The tea leaf is slightly purple and a fruit flavor is usually present. The color is usually amber. Often there is tea with a taste of muscat grapes (it occurs due to the reaction of tea leaves with small insects that feed on the juice of the stem.

autumn harvest falls in October-November. This vintage is characterized by large leaves that fully open when brewed to create a coppery or brown liquor. The aroma of tea from this collection is very different from that of teas from the first and second collections.

Tea should be brewed in a porcelain, clay or ceramic teapot. By no means in a metal one - you can only boil water in it. Despite the fact that in the Russian tradition “steam tea” is usually served, that is, strong tea is brewed, and then boiling water is added to the cup, it seems to me that this is not entirely correct - it is better to choose the amount of tea leaves (usually 1 teaspoon per cup) and corresponding teapot to be enough for everyone without dilution. Some teas allow refilling, which must be done immediately after the tea has been poured into cups. Black teas can be topped up a couple of times, oolongs and green teas allow you to perform this operation up to 5-6 times, sometimes up to eight.

Lemon, sugar or milk can be added to some teas, but some will lose all their charm after such additions. A matter of taste.

It is recommended to brew with good soft water at a “white key” temperature (the water begins to boil, but does not boil yet, about 95 degrees). Some white and green teas generally require a temperature of 70 to 80 degrees. Well, here you need to look either at the instruction, or try it yourself. In any case, boiling water and re-boiled water are contraindicated.

Brewing time is usually from one to three to five minutes. Again, look at the instructions or experiment.

I like many teas. I am most indifferent to the green ones. Exotic expensive whites are good, but you won't drink them all the time. Sometimes it's great for a change, but not all the time. Usually I brew myself either black nutmegs (Kaselton, Sungma, Jungpana) or Oolongs (Turbo, Gopaldhara, Gumti).

In conclusion, I want to present a photo tour of Darjeeling

Plantations:

COLLECTION OF TEA:

TREATMENT:

TESTING:

P.S. This post should not be viewed as an advertisement. I wrote about my favorite tea.

Many people still remember the famous tea “with an elephant” with nostalgia, assuring that it was much tastier than modern tea.

Photo: GlobalLook

Among the product symbols of the USSR, Indian tea "with an elephant" has a special place. It was so popular that boxes with a similar design can still be found today. But how tasty and “real” it was is a moot point.

tea country

The inhabitants of many countries could only envy the Soviet tea plantations, which were a legacy of the tsarist regime. And the pre-revolutionary stocks of tea were so great that in the first years of the existence of the young Country of Soviets, the army and many workers were supplied with tea for free, there was no talk of any purchases abroad. By the 70s, tea plantations covered an area of ​​​​100 thousand hectares, and about 80 enterprises were engaged in its production.


wikimedia

Georgian, Azerbaijani and Krasnodar teas were exported to friendly countries of Eastern Europe, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria. Mongolia and other Asian countries were supplied with tile and brick tea. Weighty tiles made of pressed tea "shavings" were decorated with relief inscriptions "USSR", the names of the republic and the factory, as well as images of a sickle and a hammer.

They also drank it in the Union, especially in the Asian republics. Hammered sickle tea had no aroma and was the most tasteless - which is not surprising, because it was made from leftovers. For example, brick tea was made from the oldest leaves and even branches. It was pressed so tightly that it was impossible to break it - they stratified it with a knife.

However, other types of Soviet tea did not differ in particular richness of taste and aroma. But the unspoiled citizens didn’t know anything else, cheap Chinese was imported into the country in small quantities, but the taste of “real” tea (including Georgian, which had nothing to do with that sold in stores) was known only to diplomats and other elites.

The ambitions of the USSR in this area were so great that in the late 60s, at the government level, the option of converting most of the farmland in the southern regions of the country to tea was considered. However, for some reason, the idea was hacked to death, but they began to actively introduce machine-picking, which made the quality of tea even worse.

The same elephant

“Firewood”, “hay”, “sawdust”, “broom” - as soon as they did not call Georgian or Krasnodar tea (they were most often found in stores, they were also drunk in canteens). Interestingly, many experts disparagingly call machine-picked tea "broom" - too many branches and impurities get into it.

If teas of the highest and first grade were still nothing, then tea of ​​the second grade consisted of about half of the tea "dust" and pieces of branches. Some claimed that it smelled of tobacco - in the absence of the latter, it was sometimes used for rolling cigarettes. But convicts adored second-class tea - it was cheaper, chifir was made from it, the more tea caffeine - the better, well, and the taste and aroma were not at all important.

In the late 70s, against the backdrop of worsening relations with a recent friend - China - active purchases of tea in India began. And in the early 70s, the famous elephant tea began to appear on store shelves. Indian, Madagascar and Ceylon teas have been purchased before, but in small quantities. And the elephant that glorified this drink throughout the country has not yet been observed - the design was developed only in 1967.

Tea was packaged at Soviet factories (the most famous was the Lenin Moscow tea-packing factory) in recognizable cardboard boxes with the image of an elephant - depending on the design, it was of different colors, with the trunk up or down, going right or left, with or without a driver on the back . By all these signs, citizens tried to determine which box contents would be tastier. There was an opinion that the most delicious is where the elephant is against the backdrop of some Indian temple. Although the taste of tea premium(it was usually decorated with an elephant with a green head) and the first (the head of the animal was blue) did not differ much.

Don't believe your eyes

A 125-gram pack of premium Indian tea cost 95 kopecks, despite the fact that the average salary in the early 70s in the national economy was about 130 rubles. In many cities, “real Indian tea” was in short supply - when it was “thrown out” for sale, queues immediately lined up. They also appreciated him in the zones - the authorities chifir only the “elephant”. The main catch was that, despite the inscription "Indian", there was nothing really Indian tea in the contents.

In modern terms, it was a blend. So, "Indian tea of ​​the first grade" was a mixture of 5% Ceylon tea, 15% Indian, 25% Madagascar and 55% Georgian. All this was regulated by GOSTs and TUs. The composition was not indicated on the packs - only knowledgeable people knew how much Georgian and other things were in the mixture. So the majority of the inhabitants of the Land of the Soviets failed to recognize the taste of real Indian tea.


By the way: Many Soviet housewives, accustomed to the fact that tea is full of garbage, removed white “sticks” from tea “with an elephant”, which were actually tea buds. And thus deprived the drink of a significant part palatability.

As a businessman, whose company supplied tea to the USSR in the late 70s, later said, in the famous packs with an elephant of Indian tea there were from 5 to 15% - no more.

In the 80s, when store shelves began to empty, tea with an elephant became a terrible shortage. And Indian tea in beautiful tin cans turned into the most valuable gift(as it is now clear, it was also a blend). With the collapse of the USSR, Turkish fakes began to appear in stores - in these packs, outwardly very similar, there was no trace of Indian tea. The counterfeiting business, alas, is still thriving today - as experts say, even in India itself, tea sold as elite tea is often replaced before being sold with bad or cheaper ones - for example, Indonesian or Vietnamese.

Tea cultivation in India began only in the 19th century. It was brought to this country from China, but plantations were planted in only one state - Assam. Now India already occupies an honorable second place in the production of tea, losing the palm to China. Mostly black indian is grown here, but a small share in the total production belongs to green and.

There are four major tea plantations in India:

  • Assam;
  • Darjeeling;
  • Nilgiri;
  • Sikkim.

Some varieties bear the name of the state in which they grow.

Black Indian tea

There are only two main types of black tea in India: Assam and Darjeeling. This is one of the most the best varieties, but their mixtures and lower quality options can be buy in simple store. In special tea shops there is an opportunity to choose real tea, based on its variety, harvest time and plantation where it grew.

Indian tea "Assam"

The variety is named after the name of the state where it grows. The state of Assam is located in the northern part of India, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Mostly black tea is produced here, but green and white teas are also grown.

The plant differs from its Chinese counterpart in larger leaves. The height of a tree growing on a plantation is no more than 2 m - this human intervention is necessary for ease of assembly. But in the wild, the tree grows up to 20 m. A huge plus of this variety is unpretentiousness. Even if the weather conditions were not too favorable, a good harvest will still be ensured, although its quality will decrease somewhat.

It is important! The collection is made twice: from the end of March to the beginning of April, and also from July to September. Best quality harvest is the privilege of the second harvest, so the main part is harvested at this time. In some cases, the collection is extended until December, calling it the winter collection.

Assam has its own special aroma with floral notes. To all this fragrance, a sweet honey smell is also added. Lemon, milk and sugar can be added to the finished drink. But the most sophisticated tea lovers drink it without additives, enjoying pure taste. The drink is often used during the traditional English tea to breakfast.

Indian tea "Darjeeling"

This variety is grown in the state of the same name. Tea plantations are located at an altitude of 750 to 2000 meters in the Himalayas. It is here that, in addition to black tea, white and green also grow. Darjeeling is valued more than other varieties of black tea. real tea, if properly cooked, has a tart flavor with a dash of flowers and nutmeg. The refined smell and taste of the drink are given by the conditions in which it is grown: growth in highlands and coolness, as well as soil features.

Darjeeling

Despite the fact that the variety belongs to black tea, it is not completely fermented. Therefore, it can be reckoned among oolongs to some extent. Unlike Assam, Darjeeling is a Chinese subspecies of the plant, which is why its taste differs from other varieties of Indian tea.

Gather tea in the spring, in late March - early April. This crop produces the lightest color ready drink. The next collection is in May and June and is the most valued. There are two more types of collection: autumn and rain. But they are not as highly valued as the previous two.

It is important! Darjeeling is extremely capricious to storage conditions. The container where the tea is located must be hermetically sealed. The preferred storage location is dark, odor free, dry and cool. Perfect suitable refrigerator. After two years, tea leaves will lose most of the taste, so it is advisable to use it during this time.

Indian elephant tea

Everyone who was born in the USSR remembers Indian tea, on the packaging of which an elephant was depicted. But can tea leaves with an elephant on the package be called real Indian?

Despite the confident name of this product - "Indian tea", it still cannot be called such. This is a blend of several varieties that differ in place of growth and timing of collection. In most cases, varieties from India and Georgia were included in the mixture, but other species were sometimes added. The main variety used for the Indian part is Darjeeling.

Indian tea of ​​the Soviet era

It was possible to purchase tea of ​​the first or highest grade. This tea with an elephant has become for many one of the symbols of the era of the USSR, and it is still present in the nostalgic memories of people who were born and lived at that time on the territory of a great power.

Indian

From black tea you can make the famous Indian drink - masala. In legends, the origin of this tea is attributed to different regions: Thailand or India. It appeared a very long time ago - about 3000 BC. Masala ingredients at that time were different from today.

Chai with masala spices

The modern composition of the drink became such when the UK established the production of black tea in the state of Assam. It was then that it became a classic:

  • strong black tea;
  • milk;
  • spices;
  • sugar.

In those years, masala was distributed only among people with high incomes, since tea was not affordable. ordinary people. And only at the beginning of the 20th century, local residents began to actively use both of these drinks.

The effect of Indian masala tea on the body

As for the impact on an Indian person, its benefits are obvious. Black tea itself has a beneficial effect on health due to vitamins and essential oils. It contains caffeine and tannins, which normalize the functioning of the cardiovascular system, have antispasmodic and vasodilating effects. Theotanin has a beneficial effect on gastrointestinal tract. In addition, the drink tones, improves mood and performance.

The health benefits of milk are well known. Great amount calcium, fluorine, phosphorus, protein, and other vitamins and microelements - all this is in milk. Spices have a separate role in tea. Each of them has its own set useful properties, so the overall impact will depend on their quantity and the composition of the spice set.

Ingredients of Indian masala tea

The drink has classic composition components, and each of them has certain requirements.

  • tea . For masala in India strictly black tea is used. The infusion should be very strong. Sometimes instead of tea, rooibos is added - a decaffeinated plant that in a sense replaces tea;
  • milk. In those countries of the world where masala is consumed, pasteurized skimmed milk is usually taken. Soy is often used. It has become fashionable to replace milk with ice cream, getting cold Indian masala tea. But in India itself, only unpasteurized milk is used;
  • spices. The traditional masala includes cardamom, cloves, ginger and other freshly ground spices. This is the only way to achieve the characteristic taste and aroma of the drink. In some tea establishments in Europe and Russia, spices are replaced with syrups and liquid concentrates that have natural spices only their taste and semblance of smell. Masala with their addition will not be as tasty and healthy as the real one;
  • sugar. Most often, ordinary refined sugar or honey is used to sweeten masala. But in India itself they use only cane sugar jaggery. It is completely different from white sugar and is perfect for making masala.

masala tea recipe

Fans of Indian tea should think about making masala at home - its recipe is accessible and simple. There are two classic recipes.

Recipe 1

The composition includes:

  • 400 ml of water;
  • 200 ml milk (or more if you want a thick drink)
  • 4 tbsp. l. tea leaves;
  • sugar;
  • spices: 2 cloves, cardamom, black pepper. 1 pc star anise. Half a small spoonful of fennel. 5 gr ginger. a little nutmeg. Half a cinnamon stick.

Grind with a coffee grinder. Tea and milk are boiled together. Spices are recommended to be added after the tea boils and the saucepan is removed from the heat. But the masala is not ready yet - you need to insist it for 15 minutes, strain it, and only then drink it with pleasure.

Recipe 2

Also popular is another recipe:

  • 1 liter of water;
  • 50 gr tea leaves;
  • 600 ml of milk;
  • 100 grams of honey;
  • spices: 4 cinnamon sticks, 10 cloves, 5 grams of vanilla and cardamom.

For this method of preparation, spices do not need to grind. They are simply put together in a gauze bag and tied.

Water is poured into a saucepan, and the spices in the bag are lowered into the liquid. It is desirable to attach the knot so that it can be easily removed later. After boiling, the spices “cook” for another 10 minutes. The tea leaves are added when the pan is removed from the heat. In this case, the drink is infused for 5 minutes, after which the bag can be removed. Honey and milk are added before drinking.

Green Indian tea

In addition to black tea, they are grown in the northern part of India. It is not popular with the locals and is only produced for export purposes or for tourists. Green tea is produced on several plantations:

  • Garhwal, Almor, Dehra Dun. Tea grown in these areas can be distinguished by the small size of the leaf as well as its stiffness. At the same time, tea varieties are considered medium or lower. It is produced for Tibet and Nepal;
  • Kagra valley. The tea grown here is quite tasty. In many respects, it is similar to Chinese varieties and is exported to Afghanistan and Pakistan;
  • Darjeeling. In this state, not only black tea is grown, but also green tea. Despite the small amount of the crop, it is valued much higher than the rest;
  • Ranchi. Chinese tea is produced here. Of course, it cannot be compared in quality with real Chinese, but it is quite strong and tasty.

Picking tea in India

White Indian tea

White Indian tea is very rare and valuable, and grows only in the state of Darjeeling. For collection, a fine spring day is chosen when the sun is not too hot. Collection is done manually. In this case, only the first leaves and buds are selected. A small amount of the crop is due to the fact that there cannot be many young shoots.

White tea has its own brewing method, different from black tea. For one cup of drink you will need 1 teaspoon of leaves.

It is important! In no case should you pour boiling water over tender leaves! This will completely kill the taste and aroma. For brewing, water is traditionally used at temperatures up to 80 ° C.

White tea is characterized by a delicate creamy color, spicy taste with a slight interweaving of fruits and flowers. The drink is especially appreciated by tea lovers for a long pleasant aftertaste.

White Indian tea

Indian tea, despite being valued lower than Chinese tea, has intense taste properties. He has a lot of fans around the world, and he is available even to those who cannot afford expensive varieties. If you get tired of ordinary black or green tea, you can treat yourself to a masala drink, which became famous thanks to India and local tea.

elephant tea

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Which Asian country has Delhi as its capital?

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Columbus wanted to get into this country, but missed

A country in Asia with a lot of elephants

The country where Columbus wanted to go, but never managed to

The country, the purpose of the journey of the merchant Afanasy Nikitin

Where did the game of bridge first originate?

According to the old man Hottabych, this country is located on the very edge of the globe

Country with its own ocean

Birthplace of the Kama Sutra

The country that Columbus was looking for

State in Asia

Homeland of the Raja

The birthplace of yoga

Country where cows are revered

A country where rupees are in circulation

Country, birthplace of the bridge

A country full of yogis and fakirs

Country of fakirs and dervishes

Asian power

The country that "gave" the world a guru

Rome is Italy, but Delhi?

Riga is Latvia, and Delhi?

China's southern neighbor

Close to China and Sri Lanka

Land of elephants and saris

Hindu country

The object of the search for Christopher Columbus

A country where cows are sacred

Pakistan's eastern neighbor

Close to Nepal and China

Indira Country and Rajiv Gandhi

Between China and Sri Lanka

A country where cows are idolized

The land of saris and Kamasutra

In which country are cows sacred?

Land of tea and elephants

Country of ladies with a mark on the forehead

Country in South Asia

Bangladesh's western neighbor

Which country until 1896 was known as the only supplier of diamonds in the world?

The area surrounding Delhi

Lady cow country

The address that Columbus got wrong

Country with the city of Delhi at the head

Country of Yogis

Its capital is Delhi

A country full of sarin ladies

Lilac variety

The land of women dressed in saris

The area around Delhi

A country where ladies wear saris

Close to Pakistan

The second most populous country in South Asia

State in Asia

The erroneous name given to the American continent by Columbus in the 15th century.

- Where's your tea?

- To the left, a whole department. You'll see right away.

It's easy to say. Looking into a large supermarket in Delhi, I rummaged through several shelves before I came across loose-leaf black tea familiar from childhood. No wonder - after all, the culture of tea drinking in India is different from what we are used to. Soluble (!) Is popular - yes, like coffee - tea, which is poured with boiling water, as well as the "granular version" - leaves twisted into solid balls. "Normal" tea in our understanding in India is not easy to find. In the morning they drink from glass cups masala chai - tea leaves with milk ( pernicious influence British colonizers) and masala spices containing pepper and spices. You swallow such “happiness”, and your tongue burns - so sharply. But that's okay. In the state of Himachal Pradesh, where many Tibetans live, they prefer tea with yak butter and ... dried chicken. Both a drink and breakfast at the same time. Some tribes (in particular, the Gurkhas) do not brew anything at all, but simply chew tea leaves with ... garlic. In general, the naive idea of ​​India as a tea country is crumbling from the very first days of your stay.

Only female fingers

“Extensive tea plantations in India appeared only in 1856 - English planters brought seedlings from China,” explains one of the tea businessmen. Abdul-Wahid Jamarati. - Before that, they grew here exclusively wild varieties. Now tea is grown in three mountainous regions. In the northeast of India - in Darjeeling and the state of Assam, as well as in the south - Nilgiri tea is produced there. The taste requires cool weather and frequent rains: the leaves love to absorb moisture. Most fragrant tea they are harvested only by hand and only by women (their salary is about 5 thousand rubles a month for Russian money. - Auth.): male fingers are rougher and cannot pinch off the youngest shoots - flushes. During machine harvesting, everything is cut off in a row, so these varieties are cheap: experts cynically call them a broom. Personally, I am an ardent fan of tea, which is harvested in Darjeeling between February and May, it has a very bright and rich taste. By the way, never buy tea in the markets, where it is poured into open bags and kept outdoors all day. At such a leaf, the aroma disappears: it turns into chopped hay. I was in Russia and saw - you store the leaves incorrectly. Tea should be put in the refrigerator, at a temperature of + 8 °, so it concentrates its qualities. Do not keep it in a paper box, the best option is an ordinary glass jar.

The most fragrant tea is collected only by hand and only by women. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

The plantations of Darjeeling are fascinating - huge mountains covered with greenery of tea bushes. My guide, 28-year-old Lakshmi from Tamil Nadu, assures me that she is satisfied with the position: “It’s not coal at a damn depth in a mine to mine.” She considers herself a tea professional, as she is able to collect 80 kg (!) of a leaf per day. The machine, by the way, collects 1.5 tons, but it is very small: we subsequently drink this dust, brewing tea bags. Rubbing the delicate leaves of a tea bush with his fingers, Lakshmi says: they grow back in two weeks, and in a year one can accumulate 70 kg of tea from one plant (2.5 times more in Assam). True, now some site owners are planting artificially bred varieties - the taste is not a fountain, but they will cut 100 kilos in six months. Alas, there are enough various frauds with tea in India.

For example, empty jars and packs with the inscription “Elite” or “Choice” are freely sold in the surrounding shops, and unscrupulous traders pour penny varieties into them: after all, only highly experienced tasters abroad can determine the quality of tea.

What's in the brew?

“Unfortunately, good tea is often sold by small firms,” they tell me at the plantation. “They throw in cheap versions of Kenyan or Malaysian, put the stamp “Made in India” and the pack goes to the international market.” How much counterfeit tea is sold in Russia, they could not estimate in Darjeeling. The British (and in Britain they love Indian tea no less than we do) carefully monitor the quality and strictly check the suppliers. Do they do it for us?

“Frankly, even the tea that the USSR bought could hardly be called Indian,” says businessman Vijay Sharma, whose firm sold tea for deliveries to Soviet Union in the late 1970s - It was a blend, a mixture. Depending on the variety in the famous Soviet times In a pack with an image of an elephant, the share of tea from India was only 15-25%. The main filler (more than 50%) was Georgian leaf. And right now, things aren't going well. I tried tea from sellers in Moscow and St. Petersburg, it turned out that they have no idea what period the collection (taste depends on) of Darjeeling. And what's more - Nilgiri tea is often sold as "elite" tea, although in India it is the cheapest, a drink for the poor, it is it that is packaged in bags. In places, Indonesian or Vietnamese tea was sold under the guise of Indian tea.

Cup of red pepper

I order tea at street cafe in Delhi. It is usually cooked in an iron kettle (or even a saucepan) over an open fire. The leaves are sometimes boiled immediately in milk (at the request of the client) or in water, after adding cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and chili pepper. In general, from the outside it looks like cooking soup. A glass costs 15 rupees (13.5 rubles). The taste is something strange, and almost ten tablespoons of sugar are poured in: in India they love extremely sweet tea. I ask you to brew black Assam leaves without milk and spices. The waiter appears with a glass of steaming tea and ... puts a jug of milk next to him. "Why?! I asked…” “Sir,” his voice sounds with obvious pity. “But you won’t taste good!”

Summing up, I will say: deliveries of Indian tea to our country are still chaotic, sellers have little understanding of varieties or frankly fantasize, pushing low-quality tea leaves from other countries to the Russian consumer. I am generally silent about the price - in India, tea costs 130 rubles. per kilo, we can sell it for a thousand. It's a pity. Indian varieties, especially Darjeeling, are great, and with India our business has long needed to work directly, and not buy tea at exorbitant prices through Europe and dubious small firms in India. So for us it will be cheaper and, most importantly, tastier.

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