Nothingness is vastly underrated. Only a clean slate can a fresh scribble come upon. For the sake of just a hot beverage, the busiest of minds in search of the greatest of purpose, come to a humble halt. Sitting and thinking, with a finger or two betwixt a ceramic hook, never falls out of fashion. In 1981, Sanjay Kapur wanted to put such romantic slowness back into tea. He noticed chaiwalas raising the spout of their glossy kettles to stream milky cardamom froth into glasses trapped in copper mesh. While it was empowering that a cup of chai was cutting through class and uniting a country in habit, it was also unfortunate that people were missing out on India’s botanical diversity. So, he used his knowledge of tea blends, picked up during his stint at Duncans, to start the tea retailing and tasting boutique Aap Ki Pasand in Daryaganj. Ever since, the capital’s connoisseurs, including the sacred kitchens of 7, RCR and Raisina Hill, knew where to order tea from. In 2014, his management graduate sons Nikhil (30) and Suhail (27) are using the same leaves to brew blends anew. “Our parents fell in love in the tea gardens of Darjeeling. The love affair with scent and essence is still fresh,” says Suhail, the latest entrant in the business.
Less than a month ago, they unwrapped a new tea box in Santushti shopping complex. Under the brand name San Cha, the store looks like a bureaucrats’ single storied accommodation surrounded by the cantonment cleanliness of earthen pots and tiled walkways. The inside, with slippery wooden floors glossing under mellow white light, isn’t sarkaari. But it does have the aesthetic warmth of a home. There are elongated rooms that are connected. One finds primly cushioned sofa chairs; a French antique writing table by a large window and a cosy couple seat nestled into another window. “Even the daintiest of tea cups carry a storm within them. We have tried to keep the modest charm of tea intact,” says Suhail. More than 50 varietals are placed in a space that is thematised with books on Indian teas strewn about, laminated maps of tea growing estates on walls, a chandelier made out of upturned cups stuck to saucers and a clock built into a kettle silhouette. “The practice of retail seems cold and commercial. We create the calmness required for long drawn tea tasting and appreciation, so our patrons can understand the blend of their choice and develop a finer taste for tea,” explains Nikhil.
Some teas to be sampled are the Darjeeling White Tea, which has picked up a buttery flavour in its journey from shrub to cup. The Wuyi Rock Tea, a Chinese oolong, gives out woody scents and sits somewhere between a black and green. Those chasing anti-oxidants more lethally than some others must try out the Yoga Tulsi Tea, a boldly spiced tea rounded off with cinnamon and blended ginger. The Blooming Tea is a bit of an experiment that features a pink flower curled into a ball and opens up aromatically during a gentle brew. The Vanilla Masala Chai is a dash of fresh vanilla blended with the traditional spice-infused chai. However, what sets apart San Cha from others is its President’s Tea. This is Darjeeling, the leaf that gives a new flavour each season. The spring flush is floral and vegetal and the autumnal offering is intensely floral, but only a true-blue tea junkie might be able to tell them apart. For those far ahead in the tea initiation process, the boutique offers teas by notes.
Books are the only things judged by their covers, so the encasing of these unique blends is well thought-out. “We’ve used everything from Kashmiri wooden boxes, Rajasthani jewellery boxes, hand-woven velvet and silk pouches, cutesy tin boxes, even beakers from chemistry labs,” explains Suhail.
Displayed alongside are kettles, some in cast iron with Chinese inscriptions, and others in porcelain with delicate floral overlay. There are clay kullads and cutting chai glasses in bright reds, greens and yellows.
“Would you like an adventure now, or shall we have tea first,” if only Peter Pan knew tea could be an adventure in itself.