Tea Cuppa @Kakinada
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Tea Cuppa @Kakinada
In India, one can find Tea stalls at every gully and corner of any city. Tea is not just a morning beverage to instantly wake your drowsy self but is a way of life for Indians. More known as ‘Chai’, here marriages are fixed over a ‘Chai par Bulaya hain’, to election campaigns are run on Tea themes – ‘Chai pe Charcha’ to ‘Chaiwallah kaa Beta’. Tea has become so much part of Indian culture that nobody would like to believe that in India it was brought by Britishers from China.
On my recent visit to Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, one distinct feature I noticed was the small Tea Stalls at every point of the city. These Tea stalls with prominent boards all over the city.
When India has Tea stalls in every city, then what is so special about Tea Culture at Kakinada?
First let me tell you about Kakinada, as many of you might not have heard about it. Kakinada is the sixth-largest city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the district headquarters of the East Godavari district. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. It was once ruled by Dutch India and the British East India Company. It is a three-hour drive from Vishakhapatnam and one hour from Rajahmundry, and most importantly Kakinada is the center of action for most of the Oil companies.
Now let me tell you why I was surprised to find Tea Stalls at Kakinada?
This was my first visit to Andhra Pradesh, and I carried my misperception about the Southern Indian states that they are coffee lovers. But from Vishakhapatnam to Kakinada, I could only see Tea Stalls on the highway. And at Kakinada, the Tea stalls are all over the city.
These Tea stalls are with various names – Tea Time, Tea Tree, Tea Trends, Charminar Tea, and so on. I learned that they are mostly run as franchises.
But this is not unique to Kakinada only, I guess this is all over Andhra, as I saw in Vishakhapatnam and also in Rajamundry.
Andhra Pradesh, especially Visakhapatnam, is very proud of its ‘Araku Coffee’. Right from the time, one sets foot into the city, there are restaurants, coffee shops, food stalls selling the world-famous ‘Organic Araku Coffee’. But then Tea seems to be more popular.
So, are Andhra people Tea Lovers or Coffee Lovers?
I got mixed answers but one fact was very evident that – in Andhra Tea stalls are popular and can be located at a stone’s throw. They are visible all over the place with very prominent boards.
These stalls have all flavors of Tea – ginger, lemon, cardamom, masala, apple, hibiscus, jasmine types right on the top of serving menus. Some of them serve many varieties of Indian tea including some of the most exotic ones. The price of the tea starts from Rs 10-15, I found it very cheap. One can find the crowd throughout the day though in morning, the crowd is a bit high.
During my stay at Kakinada, I always look forward to my morning walks, mainly for the reason that I would get a chance to drink Tea at one of these Tea stalls. My favourite was lemon with ginger and mint. It is so relishing; you feel like you have earned it after a long walk.
So, whenever you are in Andhra, especially Kakinada, make sure to enjoy the best of the Tea here.
Rakhi Sunil Kumar