Foreward: Cafe Pranah is currently hosting ‘Sips Of Monsoon’ – a one of a kind Tea Festival that has about 20 different kinds of teas you could sip and replenish. The festival is on till the 30th September, 2016. I was graciously invited for a preview and what follows next; well, take it with A Pinch Of Salt!
Think of Tea and a plethora of imaginative thoughts come pouring onto your grey cells like Walter Mitty’s. You’re either imagining yourself right atop the cold mountains, sipping a hot cup of replenishment outside your balcony; or just sitting by the window sill on a dull rainy day, thoroughly consumed by penned emotions evoked from a book as you sip your cup of dreams.
You don’t really need a reason to enjoy a cup of tea anyway, but, when you contemplate, monsoons do play a catalyst when it comes to savoring the most beloved beverage in existence. And it’s not just your milky concoctions I’m talking about, but also the liquid gold per say. Being a tea person myself, I jumped the gun when I was invited to a one of a kind tea festival in the city at Cafe Pranah.
Located on the posh locales of Ballygunge Phari, the first impression of Pranah transports the visitor to the serene hills of Sikkim. There is a typical Buddha monastery like prayer flags on the outside. A step inside and you’re transformed to this quaint little tea house of the cold mountains- wooden floors and furnishing et-all. What one can never miss on the first visit is a wooden window shaped book shelf with a stunning idol of Lord Buddha shining tall and of course the serenity of Buddhist chants playing harmoniously in the background.
Coming back, this health and soul haunt is currently hosting ‘Sips Of Monsoon’ – a one of a kind Tea Festival that has about 20 different kinds of teas you could sip and replenish.
You could choose from a collection of single flavour infusions like rose, vanilla,chamomile, lavender, hibiscus and even chocolate! (you read that right!)
Double flavoured infusions include the marriage of two very complimenting flavours like the orange and mint, celery and ginger (one of my favorites!), marigold and saffron, vanilla and lavender, among others.
The stars of the show however are ironically called the Tea-sers that are a mix of several flavours respectively.
What were my favourites?
Well for starters the rose, lavender and even the vanilla tea blew me away with their simplicity. It was the Chocolate tea however that got my taste bud and grey cells ticking. One may expect a dessert like flavour but all you get to sense and savour is the aroma of cocoa husks that blend so beautifully with green tea. Then again, this particular tea is not for every palate.
There is the Stupa tea -which is a fully bloomed Darjeeling tea that really impressed me throughout the tasting, not to mention witnessing the literal blooming of the long tea leaves right before my eyes was sheer magic!
Coming to the Tea-sers, you have to try the Soothing Senses and it’s so rightly named because it blends in some of my favourite tea flavours like chamomile, mint, spearmint and fennel.
The showstopper amidst all has to be a Tea-ser called the Himalayan Pardigm. An in house concoction brewed by Cafe Pranah’s owner and Chef Rahul Arora; this was more than jut a teaser mind you! There’s rose, rhododendron, hibiscus, a hint of marigold and cockscomb, tulsi, orange and lemon zest, and a host of aromatic spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom and mace, guaranteed to take you right to the 7th heaven.
The festival is on till the 30th September, 2016. So if I have managed to Tea-se you enough, head right to it!
Address: 22, Ashutoh Chowdhury Avenue,
Beside Tiru Mani complex, Ballygunge,
Kolkata-700019
Contact: (+91)9836760160
A Pinch Of Salt 