Over a Cup of Tea

By now you must have guessed what I want to write about today. The title of this blog will give you the clue. By the way it is late afternoon and I’m sitting with my cup of tea. I like to have my evening tea, if I’m right it will be wrong to say evening for the falling rays of the sun will deny the fact that it’s evening. I will rightly tag this time, late afternoon and early evening. And here again I leave you guessing about noon and evening.

Most Bengalis love the Adda time. Adda has become such a common word, you can find Big B writing his blogs on bigadda.com. Addabaji is very common not only among Bengali youths but among the bhadralok and bhadra mahilas also. The adda is most enjoyed over a cup of tea. Here I say tea, as I prefer tea to coffee.

I always feel tea has a cousin in coffee. Why not they both energise the body and mind. The first thing in the morning is a cup of tea. I prefer my tea after my morning nitya karma is over. Nitya karma, in simple words, sometime spent in the bathroom. Why should I hate those who love to drink their tea in bed? Angreziri style ‘Bed Tea’ is their preference without even brushing their teeth. But never heard a dentist speak against it, maybe it does not harm the teeth.

As the lady of the house, I pity me for I have to make my morning cuppa and for others too. I love my travel days when I get my first cup of tea in the morning served by someone else. At times I feel the tea I make is not worth drinking. Why? For that answer I need to do some thinking. Not now, maybe sometime later on.

My sister says my tea tastes too sweet. Even my mother-in-law said the same. After all they prefer 1 tsp of sugar but 2 tsp is fine for me. Aap ruchi khana par ruchi pahanna this saying fits in correctly for my taste. Why not, every person has his/her own taste buds. I use the Brooke Bond Red Label which was used in my Ma’s kitchen and I have stuck to this brand till date. Recently a friend brought Dhruba leaf tea which I have mixed with my usual brand in 50:50 proportions to get the flavour and colour.

My friend once told me to drink my morning tea without milk as this helps prevent tooth problem (cavities). But I don’t like black tea. And the lemon tea a favourite of many has never gone down well with my taste buds.

I am not a tea addict. One cup in the morning and one in the evening is enough for my day. For courtesy sake I drink an extra cup when offered by friends or relatives. In winter I don’t mind an extra cup or two. Something makes me smile at this moment. Children dip biscuits into their mother’s tea cups and eat them. Even I have done so and so also my children.

Having finished my last drop from the cup I think I can also wrap up my words for today.