People who know me well would know me as a tea-lover. I drink cups of tea on daily basis, and most of the time I would prefer tea over plain water. And living in Bangladesh has encouraged my tea addiction even more. Tea-drinking is something that is deeply rooted in this country (and also everywhere in this subcontinent), and people just can't function well when their tea-ration is not met. At certain times, usually around 10 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon, people would automatically stop doing whatever they are doing and have their tea fixed.
At work it is no different. Our cafeteria serves tea two times a day, and my colleagues would start wiggle on their chairs when it is close to tea time, cannot wait to go and enjoy their tea. Another thing is, tea time is not only about drinking tea, it also has a social thing ingrained in it. It is the time when you meet your colleagues and talk and gossip and build or strengthen your social network. And it is of course a nice break from work! :D
Another fact about the tea culture in Bangladesh is that it is usually served with milk (lots and lots of condensed milk if you buy from the roadside, but oftentimes fresh milk if you get it in the villages) and heaps of sugar. And when I write heaps it really is heaps, no kidding! I automatically winced when tasting Bangla tea the first time. Even for me who's coming from a sweet-tea-drinking society, the amount of sugar people put in their tea here is really too much. Their tea can be really good though, because usually they use quite strong black tea, generous amount of milk, and put many spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and bay leaves, which altogether make a tasty mixed of masala cha (this kind of cha is widespread allover Indian subcontinent). However, growing up with fragrant jasmine tea has instilled a love for flavored black tea in me, so when drinking tea here I would rather choose rong cha or just black tea with spices (most common are ginger or lemon).
So I have this Bangladeshi colleague who share the love of flavored black tea. We love trying different flavors from different brands and from time to time will exchange our collection with each other. But she surprised me the other day when she commented on the amount of sugar I put in my tea, which to me was nothing compared to the amount any Bangladeshi would have. She said that she has been drinking her tea without sugar, in the quest to be healthier.. and to follow what George Orwell suggested about
a nice cup of tea (Why I didn't know that this favorite author of mine was a tea lover too!), whose flavor should not be destroyed by putting sugar. What?! Wait a minute..
With curiosity I googled the said suggestion and was going hmm hmm while reading it. In full defense, I concluded that Mr.Orwell was biased. Sure he has traveled the Indian subcontinent to be able to say Indian or Ceylon tea was the best, but has he traveled to Netherlands East Indies/ Nederland Oost-Indie (aka Indonesia) and ever knew that it also produces some of the world's finest tea? And what was that all nonsense about tea preparation? Did he know anything about the tea culture in China, its complicated preparation and what it symbolizes? And if sugar destroyed the flavor of tea, how about milk? And I am sure he didn't know that tea can be flavor-added (my favorite so far is earl grey!) and that a little bit of sugar (or honey) can actually enhance the flavor?
So if Mr.Orwell wanted to go cini cara (without sugar), let him be. For me, I would still prefer cini diye. With sugar, please! *
*Of course this is just a defensive post to insist on my preference. How about you, how would you love your cup of tea? :)
My recent cup of tea, of course with sugar
