An evening Appreciating Tea with Sublime House of Tea

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I am always ready to try something new and when the opportunity to try out new Chai in town arose, I was pretty excited to sip and indulge on the Sublime House of Tea at the Tea Appreciation event held at UB city.

You see, my dad is die-hard tea connoisseur and loves his tea really light and without milk or sugar. My husband loves his kadak masala chai with fresh ginger and I have been drinking green tea for a couple of months now. With these varied likings, it’s always a tussle which brew is the best. Finding a good brew is a soulful experience after all tea invigorates both the body and the mind. Plus, this was not just any tea, it was the ‘Sublime House of Tea’

‘Sublime House of Tea’

Started in 2013 by Uzma Irfan – Executive Director, Prestige Group and Founder, Sublime Galleria, it is engaged in a continual voyage to discover newer and better experiences of imbibing the divine brew of gourmet tea, while always staying in touch with its traditions and roots that date back to ancient times.

The Tea Appreciation Event

Coming back to the event, the Tea Appreciation session was sponsored by Sublime House of Tea and was a collaboration of a Talk and a Cook-off.  Held at the very posh, Soul city bistro, Bangalore, Anamika Singh, a Tea-Taster by profession engaged a packed audience of over 25 tea enthusiasts in a 30-minute demo on Tea appreciation. Chef Michael Swamy kept the audience captivated with his Tea-infused cocktails & recipes.

The Art Of  Tea – The Perfect Blend

We were all really curious. What makes the perfect tea?  Anamika explained that the key to a perfect brew is the quality & quantity of the tea used. While each tea type and there are many : Black Tea, Green Tea, White Tea, Oolong Tea, needs a different temperature and method to perfect, a rough estimate is to  –

1. Never add tea to boiling water. Keep the water temperature around 90 degrees, hot enough that the water bubbles at the side, but is not boiling.
2. Use a clear rounded glass teapot whenever possible. – The glass allows us to see the diffusion and the rounded shape allows the tea leaves ample space to move and release their flavor.
3. Add the leaves first. Then, gently pour the simmering hot water over the leaves , powder or tea bag. About 1 teaspoon to 200 ml is a good ratio. Close and let the leaves infuse the water for 5 minutes. Tools like a tea timer, infusers, filters all help manage the timing & flavor better.

Types of Tea

The first cup I tasted out of their range was Sublime’s Jasmine Mandarin.  This is a premium green tea with leaves that have been infused with jasmine flower. As the delicate fragrance spread from the steaming cup, I was refreshed by the tangy edge of the green tea. What a delicate flavor and the color of sunshine.

Next, we tried my absolute favorite of the evening –  Sublime’s White tea with raspberry,  an exotic white tea with a delicately fruity raspberry flavour.  White tea leaves are the least processed and the least oxidised.This tea is very rich in vitamins and antioxidant. I could sip on this the whole day.

Sublime’s portfolio of fine tea presents a mix of the classical, the popular and the avant-garde. From sought-after bouquets such as Green Long Ding, Earl Grey, Darjeeling and Wellness brew to intriguing localised brews like Moroccan Mint, and Seventh Heaven, eclectic admixtures like Jasmine Mandarin, the complex flavours of herbal tisanes like Rose in Bloom, Chamomile, and White Tea, there is a tea to suit every palate and occasion.

Tea many ways

The Modern tea has many new avatars. Gone are the days when tea was just a hot beverage. Chef Michael Swamy showed us how to use tea while cooking.

Smoking foods with tea is a popular technique that works really well with rich meats like Lamb and Duck.  The fats in these meats absorb the rich taste, color & aroma of the tea. He demonstrated two recipes that used tea. A vegetarian pesto salad that had soaked tea leaves, walnuts, garlic, ginger, pepper & salt all ground together with some oil and a chicken salad that used chicken smoked with tea leaves for the non-vegetarians.

Chef Michael Swamy has very generously shared many recipes from his book on the Art Bengaluru Tea appreciation page 

Cold Tea Infusions

Tea also infuses well with Tequila, gin & vodka. 10 grams tea to 100 ml alcohol, left in a bottle overnight or more and then shaken, drained and served can create a wonderful new cocktail.

Currently, ‘Sublime House of Tea’ is available on the shelves of all Gourmet stores of Food World, Nature’s basket, and Spar. It is also available at Sublime Galleria (UB City). In addition, it is being served at. They are also available online at Amazon.in. Flipkart, HealthKart and Big Basket.com.

I came back much wiser and definitely appreciating tea and its flavors a lot more. A wonderful event that I thoroughly enjoyed. With #SublimeTea & YES BANK #ArtBengaluru2016 #YESBANKAB7