BEVERAGE -- 3::

ORCHID’S ‘TEA POT’ OFFERS VARIETIES

BY P S SUNDAR

An instance of innovation comes in the form of serving hot and cold tea varieties in the Nilgiris, the Mecca of South Indian tea industry.   The ‘Tea Pot’ in Orchid Square Boutique Hotel, Coonoor, serves this purpose.

“The Nilgiris grows about 62,000 acres of tea bushes from 2,000 to 6,000 feet above mean sea level.  It is the country’s second largest tea producing region next to Assam.   The quality Nilgiris teas have fine flavour, with bright brisk liquor and smooth rounded mellow attraction.   The Nilgiri teas are famous all over the country and in many nations.  However, visitors are not able to enjoy a variety of Nilgiris tea when they are in the Nilgiris.   To fill the void, we have created the ‘Tea Pot’ segment”, Orchid Square Managing Director Sudarshan Motwani told me.

The hotel is situated at a vantage point on the way to Coonoor’s most popular picnic spots – Lamb’s Rock and Dolphin’s Nose.  So, it is possible for tourists to enjoy the facility of ‘Tea Pot’ without an extra effort to reach the place.

Among the Hot tea varieties available there are Masala Chai, Spicy Milk Chai, Cardamom Tea, Saffron Tea, Chocolate Mint Tea, fresh Orthodox black Orange Pekoe Leaf Tea and Orange Green Tea.

Among the Ice Tea variants are Apple and Honey Iced Tea, Citrus Mint Iced Tea, Peach Iced Tea and Ginger Iced Tea.

The Menu card given to the visitors provides details of the Nilgiris tea:  “The Nilgiris, or the Blue Mountains, are a stunningly beautiful range of hills that stretch down to the south-western tip of India.  The tea industry was established here in 1840 when Col John Ouchterloney came upon a sheet of virgin forest well-supplied with its own rivers and streams...”

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)