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Sidewalk tea drinking is a common sight on Indian streets. A rickety stove, a large pot and jars of tea leaves, sugar, spices and buffalo milk are enough to run a stall. As one of India’s major cities, Kolkata is the country’s most famous tea capital. Both Assam and Darjeeling teas are shipped from here to Felixstowe and Hamburg. Stalls on Elgin Street specialize in the most elaborate brews: sweet, aromatic and spiced, served in small clay cups.
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Disposable bhar tea cups
In a large pot, the ground spices, sugar, tea, and milk simmer. Before being poured into small disposable earthenware cups, the chef pours them into the pot from above and stirs them together in a performance art. A touch of pink earthenware dust contributes to the tea’s distinctive character, along with the malty tea, spicy masala, full-fat buffalo milk, and the sweetness of sugar.
A tea stall on the street of Kolkata
This famous drink in India is attractive because of its sweet, aromatic, and spicy taste, and is the most popular street drink here.
When finished drinking, the clay cup is thrown on the road. It is crushed by vehicles. The clay returns to its source and provides a convenient solution to fill the potholes on Kolkata's roads.
Tea plays an important part in the lives of people in Kolkata and India in general. Despite their busy schedules, many people still try to have a cup of tea several times a day.
Adjaj Kumar, an employee at the Taj Bengal Hotel in Kolkata, drinks tea at a shop outside the hotel. “I come here several times a day. Tea time is very important to me. I don’t have the habit of enjoying tea in a plastic cup because it will lose its delicious taste,” Adjaj Kumar shared.
Since the advent of paper and plastic cups, bhar tea cups have gradually disappeared from many parts of India. However, tea vendors on the streets of Kolkata still use earthenware tea cups, which are handcrafted from clay.
NA (According to Theguardian)
