Waiting to shop at the famed American black day sale at a newly opened European retail chain in Inorbit Mall in Hyderabad, I couldn’t resist darting towards a tea outlet there. The corridor that houses the brand Chai Point was engulfed with the aroma of tea brew. This, along with erratic whiffs of cardamom and sometimes ginger. Should I? Or shouldn’t I drink tea considering the fact that commercially made tea is never to my liking. I wondered if it will be very milky or migraine-inducingly sweet. I took a deep breath to sniff the aroma of the brewing tea to gauge if it smelt like burnt milk. All seemed well. Also considering the fact that a master artisan coffee brewer suggested I try this tea, I decided to brave it.
The green outlet has very little to distract the eye for interiors. This no-fuss joint has a wide range of teas which are kept at a controlled temperature in brass tea brewers. The temperature controlled display rack for food had some very simple choices. Samosa, sandwich, cake and rusk and a few others.
I asked for a ginger chai long with a packet of cake rusk. The tea comes without sugar and was piping hot. I couldn’t wait to sip it to know if it meets my expectation. I let it sit for a while to get down from near boiling temperature. As I took my first sip, the aroma told me it will be a good sip. I also noticed how the tea didn’t form that yucky thin film on top indicating it is a good tea.
The first sip was good enough to tell me, I was going to drink it all. The tea wasn’t very milky, the ginger juice in it slightly stung my throat, soothing the cold.
What makes the teas at Chai Point so good is that they use tea leaves instead of tea dust.
The product as the company profiles says is primarily driven to ensure great taste, quality and freshness. The tea variants include milk-based and non-milk. The menu also ensures a range of cold beverages that include juice-based iced chais, and 100 % rich pulp-based shakes.
