Sudipta Dev – Mumbai
On International Tea Day (December 15), Dlecta Cafe launched its indigenously developed very first automatic fresh tea brewing machine, in Mumbai. The tea brewing machine can serve upto 400 cups of tea in a day. “The vending machine which brews tea from leaves is a technical innovation, we have applied for patent. It only takes 25 seconds for the tea to brew. It is not a premix – there is no sugar, just water and tea leaves,” said Deepak Jain, founder and MD, Dlecta Foods. The machine also has options for coffee, soups and more.
A tea tasting and awareness session was also organised to mark the occasion. International Tea Day is celebrated by tea growing nations since 2005, to create awareness amongst the governments and the citizens about issues associated with the industry. Jain said, “In most countries tea is a beverage, but in a few like China and Japan, it is also a tradition.” Seventy eight per cent of the world’s tea production comes from four countries – China, Sri Lanka, Kenya and India. “Our production is 25 per cent of the world’s production. Almost 80 per cent of the tea we produce, we consume inside the country,” said Jain. Assam produces 52 per cent, West Bengal 25 per cent, Tamil Nadu 15 per cent and Kerala six per cent, some tea is produced in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Odisha as well. “Darjeeling is known as the ‘Champagne of teas’ because if perfectly brewed the colour is similar to champagne. Nilgiri Frost tea is also growing in popularity,” mentioned Jain.
Giving information about the various categories of tea, Jain stated that tea can be classified according to the geographical region and method of manufacturing – black, oolong, green or white. The black tea manufacturing process is either orthodox (traditional method) or CTC (crush, tear, curl). India is the only country which produces both varieties in sizable quantity. India is largely a CTC market. “There are also herbal teas, which are infusions, and technically not tea. Sometimes these are referred to as tisane,” informed Jain.