A Tea-Lover

With the passing away of Queen Elizabeth II, the manufacturers of Assam tea have lost a very valued customer. The longest-serving monarch of the United Kingdom, however, was not a valued customer. Rather, she can be described as a connoisseur of tea – and yes, Assam tea! According to media reports, the late Queen Elizabeth II really knew her tea, and that every afternoon during her long tenure as the Head of State, she maintained a tradition of enjoying a 'cuppa' at her grand afternoon tea, which comprised choicest Assam as well as Darjeeling teas. The Queen, who had ascended the throne at the tender age of 25 in 1952, within about five years after India attaining independence, in fact had a special love for tea, both of Assam and Darjeeling. Media reports quoting her personal butler Grant Harrold said that the latter had earlier in 2018, revealed as to how the late monarch always used to take out time to sit down for her afternoon tea wherever she was. She is supposed to have never missed the afternoon ritual, except for extreme situations. The royal butler Harrold has been also quoted as having revealed that Queen Elizabeth II enjoyed Assam and Darjeeling tea along with her daily brew of traditional Earl Grey. But, while Harrold refrained from revealing the names of the particular tea gardens in Assam and Darjeeling from where Buckingham Palace used to procure the special tea leaves for Queen Elizabeth II, he has, however, made known the way she preferred her tea to be made. He had received specific instructions to brewing her tea in the perfect manner, as tea aficionados will attest to. The step-by-step process was like this: Pour the tea into the cup from a teapot; add milk to the cup after the tea and never before; stir back and forth; the Queen also made sure that her tea was never stirred a circular motion and that the spoon or stirrer never touched the sides of the cup. So, next time one feels like having a cup of tea, one can now have it prepared in the royal manner, and have a royal feel about it. After all, what is tea, but the cup that cheers!