An advertisement for a tea brand on television catches the immediate attention of the viewer. An elderly couple in a restaurant, looking at the menu card for a cup of tea, find names of different types of tea. The person waiting to take the order understands the predicament and offers to get them tea that is prepared by him for his mother at home. The elderly couple relish their tea and say it’s perfect.
Regular visitors to hotels, cafeterias and the multiplexes would be well acquainted with the wide range of tea and coffee varieties that are available in today’s times. For those who are not regulars to eateries, food joints and cafeterias, the names, wide range and varieties would be baffling. Tea and coffee are beverages that are prepared first in the kitchen at most homes as the day breaks and a cup energises one for the day ahead.
The situation of the elderly couple in the said advertisement is not restricted to elders alone. Don’t we all face such situations, some accepting ignorance with grace and humility and many pretending to have a deeper knowledge?
Many are aware of an ordinary cup of tea or coffee, easily available, accessible and affordable.
The fact remains that tea and coffee have gone high tech. It certainly is exciting, but at times, confusing.
The roadside tea stalls under a tree, with a few benches for customers, a radio with some music and entertainment slowly seems to be a thing of the past. Such stalls are giving way to smart tea joints with snappy names. They are bigger, brighter and modern. The TV is on most part of the day and the display board and the menu card displays various types of teas. The list keeps increasing by the day. Black, lemon, masala and ginger tea are a few of the many on display. They come with a slightly increased price, though on expected lines for the ambience provided over there.
A cup of tea in the past had fewer options — strong, light or medium. But the range is just mind blowing today.
The same goes with coffee. It was just strong or light coffee that used to be the common order from customers in restaurants and hotels.
Though things have changed gradually, most homes make these beverages at home in the traditional way. The world outside has changed, changes are to be embraced and accepted, failing which one would be unaware of the happenings around the fast-paced and moving times.
But do all the varieties beat the freshly ground filter coffee and would tea outside be more refreshing than the one prepared at home?
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