I feel like royalty, I mean it’s not everyday one is invited over for tea and then served tea on a personal tea tray. And the complimentary biscotti, muffin and croissant on my wooden tray, well although the word is rarely used to describe food items, is ‘adorable’. They are so tiny and so perfect, just like one expects served to visiting dignitaries.
I am at Villa Maya to try a few of their new list of brews. It’s a rainy day and I am caught in the rain. Stepping into an air-conditioned environment, wet and chilled to the bone, is not exactly my cup of tea. But then, with the tray before me, the thought of having a piping hot cup of tea does manage to warm me up a bit.
I have chosen a flower and fruit infusion – raspberry and rose hip tea. According to the menu, this variety of tea is rich in vitamin C. I place the tea infuser in my fine china cup and pour the hot water from my tea pot over it. A sweet aroma arises from my cup. Although there is a wedge of lemon and an option of either honey or sugar to sweeten my tea, I ignore them. Such flowery and fruity teas should be had as it is, I feel.
Light in flavour, and rich in fragrance, the tea immediately soothes my frazzled nerves. Relaxed and warm, I pick up the croissant and take a bite. The buttery, flaky pastry is crunchy and lightly salted. The sweet, coin-sized biscotti, I discover, is an almond one. The muffin is almond-based too.
As the menu lists more options of teas, I take a cursory glance. There’s masala chai, Assam tea, Darjeeling tea, lemon tea, Earl Grey, green tea, jasmine tea, tulsi tea… While such varieties of tea are available in most restaurants, a highlight of the tea menu at Villa Maya is its fruit and flower infusions. There are strawberry and kiwi, lemon and lime, Caribbean cocktail infusions (which has a hint of coconut) and Indian summer fruit infusions (which has a strong aroma of nutmeg) to name a few.
My waiter recommends red hot ginger tea. This fiery red tea too comes served on a tray. A combination of ginger, apple, orange peel and more, red hot ginger tea however, fails to tickle my taste buds.
The new tea menu, says Sarath Mahesh, assistant manager, food and beverages at Villa Maya is part of a monsoon promotion at Villa Maya. The prices of the tea vary between Rs. 150 to Rs. 200 plus taxes. “Tea is a perfect way to end a meal. It helps digestion and some of the brews have medicinal value.” Lovers of coffee need not despair though. Villa Maya has usual coffee brews like cappuccino, latte and frappe on its menu too and plans to expand its listing of coffee-based drinks. “We are planning to source more varieties of coffee and introduce more variations of coffee brews.”
The restaurant is also planning to introduce high tea shortly. Watch this space.
