VIJAYAWADA: A recent survey by the Tea Board of India found that 64 per cent of Indian homes with 96 per cent of their family members consume tea as opposed to any other beverage. However, reports also hint at the surprising fact that despite being the world’s second-largest tea producer and having the maximum number of drinkers, the nation’s per capita consumption is much less than many other countries.
Over the past two decades, there has been a change in consumption patterns. “Some 30 to 35 years ago, I used to sell only two types of tea — normal milk tea and special milk tea with a home-made ginger masala in it. However, over time I had to improvise and add new varieties of tea to keep my customers interested. Now I sell roughly 20 different types of tea,” said Bahadur Sheikh, owner of Bahadur Tea Shop in One Town.
Health benefits are often cited as the reason behind the rising demand for non-milk tea consumption. In the past it was merely a beverage but now, a potential health drink too many. “I was a teaholic and would consume normal Indian chai made with milk, seven times a day. Later, when I faced health problems, my doctor asked me to shift to herbal tea. This changed my perception. Even today I am a tea person but my palate has evolved because of which I can consume every variety sparing milk-based beverages,” said Madhurima Chatterjee, who works at a fashion boutique on MG Road.
TVD Prasad Kumar, a tea-seller who has been working in several shops in the city as well as in Hyderabad for the past 30 years said that apart from health-consciousness, people are also aware of global trends.
"Earlier people would only know tea as something made out of tea powder and milk. The tea which we made 30 years ago was considered as the sole type. However, as technology advanced and people started getting information from the internet about its myriad forms and health benefits, the demand for exotic varieties increased. I didn’t even know what was demanded of me when the first customer in Hyderabad asked for lemon tea," said Kumar.
Further sharing his experience, he said that he actually learnt to make different varieties when one of his regular customers showed him the recipes online. After working in five tea shops and owning two, today he is currently employed at a shop named Tea Break in Satyanarayanpuram.
Youngsters in the city on being questioned also agreed to Kumar’s opinion. “We as teenagers understood the concept of coffee dates and informal job interviews being held at cafes. I used to think, what if a tea lover wants to go for a tea date. When I was in my intermediate, we never had places where we could sit with our loved ones and have some tea. But today places such as Tea Village and other smaller tea cafes have made it possible to have tea dates as well,” said U Anusha, a tea-lover and a software engineer.
The shift from milk tea to green, herbal, ginger, bubble- to name a few - are changing the future of tea in India.