The Love of My Life !

The Love Of My Life !

Wait; No, it’s not my husband ! 😂It’s something that helps me in pepping up my moods, easing up my tensions, forget stress for a little while, adds that pinch of superb flavour to my happiness and most importantly, kick starts my mornings making them lovely for me. My weather-proof companion. Yes, that’s my kind of a cup of TEA !! Oh, how I love it ! 😋😋

Well, I don’t really remember when did I have my first cup of tea. How old was I? Or where was it? Who made it for me? I say who made it for me, because, my mom is a coffee person and my dad was a total tea person ! So may be it was my dad who first wanted us kids to taste it, and am so sure I must have fallen for it just instantly !

When we were school going kids, one of the most staple breakfast, if I may say so, used to be whole wheat rotis with tea. Oh, and not the leftovers from the earlier day, which was typically one of the ways to finish the leftover rotis. Mom used to roll them hot and there they were in our plates directly from the pan, with just that much oil on it as would stay on your finger tips. Perfect ! They tasted so well when dipped in a hot cup of tea. Even now !

That much needed cup of tea was perfect at college canteens to get over some boring lectures or gossip about the most happening things in college. It was perfect to start off those early morning classes at six,  when I was doing my Chartered Accountancy course. I remember, I used to have it immediately again after the first one hour lecture, in spite of the fact that I had it while leaving my home early morning for the classes ! 

During those articleship days, which is a mandatory hands on training of three years while doing Chartered Accountancy, there was this roadside tea stall just next to our office, typically called 'Amruttulya' in our local Marathi language. My goodness, I wonder what that guy preparing the tea did, it was amazing ! I was “warned” by my seniors then, that you should enjoy the taste of the tea which comes from, any 'Amruttulya’ for that matter, but never ever go and even try to see how the tea is being prepared ! 😀😀 That’s what I still do, just that I know now why my seniors ever warned me ! But trust me, there’s no tea that matches the taste of the one that comes from an 'Amruttulya’ !

After becoming a Chartered Accountant, I worked for a few years at a leading IT company, which was famous also for having sprawling campuses and canteens ! But there was just one vendor who used to serve that perfect tea. I made some of the bestest friends for life there, over the numerous cups of tea, venting out the stress, be it personal or professional. There was no better bonding than what happened over those cups of tea, within my “Breakfast gang” of friends, as we later named it ! 

During that career stint in the IT company, I became habitual to having small portions of tea at a single point of time. Those small disposable cups, you know. Gradually, that reflected in my personal life as well, where I couldn’t have a full cup of tea at a time, like up to that brim ! Until even today I just have half or a three fourth cup full of tea at a time. I also started realising that the amount of sugar that goes into the making and having of like a minimum of 5 to 6 cups of tea a day, was definitely not good for health. So, consciously, I reduced the amount of sugar too ! But the love for tea didn’t reduce an ounce ! 

Over time, my taste buds adjusted to the 'n' number of ways this lovely drink is curated. One with buffalo’s full fat milk, cow’s milk, less milk, more milk, the tea that’s boiled for a very long time, with just ginger, with some exotic tea condiments, various 'amruttulyas', awesome mom made tea, a quick dad made tea which I miss the most, and last but not the least, husband made tea too, at times ! Oh, you know what, my son all of almost seven years old, also made a cup of tea for me the other day, all by himself, under supervision of his dad ! That’s the one I adore the most ! But; but, I never really developed the taste for that black tea, green tea, herbal tea and there’s this super spicy tea that I had tasted, full of spices an condiments ! Had the heart only to taste it !

If I were to name that one person in my life, if I may call him my anytime tea buddy, he would be my dad ! Our craziness for tea was almost equal you see. It was just a matter of asking each other, will you have a cup of tea? And that would be an instant yes, from either side. Be it even ten in the night, then ! There were times, when we even made just about two sips of tea for the both of us, just for the sake of having tea. I really miss my anytime tea buddy and haven’t found anyone like that after him !

So, coming back to that 'my kind of a cup of tea', here’s how I prefer it. Keep half a cup of water to boil. Add a flat or even lesser tea spoon of sugar. Add a three fourth tea spoon full of tea powder. Let it boil. If you have just about boiling milk ready, pour the tea first into your cup and then add the milk to make it a three fourth cup of tea. And if you don’t have hot milk ready, pour some milk into the boiling tea and then wait for it to just about start boiling again and put off the flame. So basically taking care that you don’t boil the tea along with the milk into it. And there it is, my kind of a cup of tea ! Neither too strong nor too milky, no ginger, no tea condiments, just plain tea !

So the next time you invite me, you know how I like my tea !! 😁

That’s for you, the love of my life, the one that gives me my five minutes of 'Me time’ throughout the day... My kind of a cup of TEA !