Today in this blog I am going to write about my experience at India's 1st ever Tea Carnival, Chai Ho Jaye. And I am also going to share some recipes that I came across there. But before that, I must say that I was never a fan of tea nor do I know how to make one. But Chai Ho Jaye totally changed my idea about tea drinks or tea mocktails.
"Tea is one of the most versatile and all weather drink. You need not always require the British climate to drink tea. You can customize it with anything and make it into a new drink. Chai Ho Jaye is here to make people aware of the different kinds of iced tea."
Arijit Dasgupta, Famous Tea Taster
Below are some of the drinks served at Chai Ho Jaye.
PEPPERMINT GREEN COOLER
This is for all the people who likes to have green tea. This offers you a refreshing pepperminty after-taste. |
Heat water (1 L) up to 80 degrees and add green tea leaves (20 gms) and let it cool down.
Take a glass and fill it with ice. Then pour the Green Tea mix.
To add taste, add some sugar syrup and Lime juice and add a pinch of peppermint powder and then stir it again.
Garnish with a couple of Polo rings and serve cold.
CTC EAST MEETS WEST
Yes, this too is a tea recipe. It is a spicy blend of Kokum Berry Extract from the Western Ghats & the CTC Tea.
Take 20gms of CTC Tea Leaves and boil 1 L of water to 100 degrees and add tea leaves. As usual, let it cool and store.
In a shaker, add the Tea concoction, Kokum Syrup, Black Salt & Lime juice. Then put some ice and shake it.
Pour the mixture into a tall glass and garnish with an orange slice and serve cold.
DARJEELING HONEY COOLER
All of us know about the famous Darjeeling Tea. But recipe just adds up sweet and sour honey flavour in the mix
Brew 20 gms of Darjeeling Tea leaves in 1 L of water. Boil the water to 100 degrees and add tea leaves. Let it cool and store.
Take a shaker and add the Darjeeling Tea, Caster Sugar, Honey & Lime juice and shake it nicely.
Take glass and put some ice and pour the mix. Serve it cold after garnishing with orange/lime slice.
'UN' ORTHODOX MOJITO
Be it KFC or Au Bon Pain, we all love mojitos. They have been the 'go to' drinks during summer. But ever thought of making a tea mojito? Here is the process of using the long leafed Orthodox Tea and serve it in the popular mojito style.
Add 20 gms of tea leaves in 1 L water and boil it to 100 degrees. Let it cool and store.
Take a glass, squeeze a lemon wedge and then drop it inside it. Add caster sugar and muddle. You can also add sugar syrup if you don't have caster suger.
Crush some ice cubes and add them in the glass and then slowly pour in the Brewed Orthodox tea.
Finally garnish it with mint sprig and your 'Un' Orthodox Mojito is ready to serve.
Chai Ho Jaye is not a brand like Coca-Cola, but a movement that does generic promotion of tea across the country. A reason why people appreciate it. Their main target crowd are the younger generation. As India is one of the biggest producer of tea, but the per capita consumption is less compared to other countries. They have been in Delhi, Gurugram, Kolkata, Gujarat, and a couple of cities in Punjab.
Note: Note some of the images above are only for referencial purpose