Strong brew

Stop by at this teashop in Noida’s Sector 37 and you will be transported back to the idle evenings of your college days. The shop is crowded with youngsters in their worn out Levis and sunglasses, chatting and sipping hot cuppas as the sun goes down.

Set up more than a decade ago by 60-something couple Captain (retd) V.K. Mehra and his wife Cuckoo, Teasta The Tea Shop offers delicious snacks and sumptuous sips.

Inside the shop, Mehra is hard at work. A fresh brew has been laid out in the tea tasting bowl. He takes a sip and sloshes it loudly in his mouth before gulping. “This one comes from the Gopaldhara tea garden in Darjeeling,” he says. “The middle portion of the tongue can recall 30-year old memories,” says Mehra, who was the superintendent manager of Rydak tea at Jardine Henderson Ltd for over 25 years. “I was in the army for six years and my posting in Assam and West Bengal introduced me to the manicured tea gardens.”

“My wife set up this teashop in the garage of our home in 1996 and we retailed loose tea leaves,”

says Mehra. Three years ago, they relocated the shop a few blocks away from their house at the Godavari Complex.

A host of kettles, a porcelain tea pot in shape of a laughing Buddha and several painted tea cups that Mehra has collected over years from his visit to South Asian countries dot the shelves across the shop. “I’m yet to explore China and its famous teas,” he says.

The narrow corridor outside makes for the sitting area with tiny stools scattered across.

Teasta offers 12 varieties of teas, that includes the Soring Tibetan herbal tea procured from Dharamshala and a handful of excellent filter coffee brews. Three leafy menus lay out a neat selection of cold and hot brews along with a list of mouthwatering nibbles like grilled sandwiches, homemade muffins and cookies. Pick up a balmy cup of green tea, a brisk Nilgiri or a chilled lemon tea, every cup wafts delicate aromas and delicious flavours. Among cold coffees, Caribbean Coffee, a no-milk concoction makes a refreshing sip.

“Once you acquire tea tasting, the likeness for coffee comes naturally,” says Mehra, who was also the vice-chairman of Indian Tea Association (D.B) and a member (A.S.C) of Tea Research Association.