Tea'd off

One thing India has plenty of is tea. After all, it comes from this part of the world. And there are many different kinds of tea. And it's fun to try them.

Across the road from my office -- in the Leela Galleria shopping center -- is the Cha Bar, a small cafe tucked inside the Oxford book shop. "Cha" means "tea" and the Cha Bar lives up to its name. The menu has many more pages devoted to tea than it does to food.

I go to the Cha Bar about once a week as a break in my lunchtime routine. And, to taste teas. I've been working my way down the menu, tea by tea.

So far, I've found that I really like Darjeeling (they have a couple of varieties, such as first flush, second flush, etc.) and Assam teas. I don't like southern Indian teas as much, but I like having the opportunity to try them.

The tea menu includes varieties from other countries, such as Japanese green tea, and I've been trying them, too.

At the store, I like to buy Dilmah teas. They are grown in Sri Lanka and are very good. Their Earl Grey is more subtle than Twinning's Earl Grey. There's less bergamot in it (My wife, Diane, used to refer to the Twinning's variety as "Aramis Tea" because the smell reminded her of Aramis aftershave).

Dilmah's English breakfast blend is also very good.

Before coming to India, my favorite tea was Twinning's Irish Breakfast. It's strong.

How about you? What's your favorite tea?