Darjeeling unlimited

"You see," she said, handing out apleated teacup with violets," coffee is for those who have no time. Fortea-drinkers, time waits." What this improbable spring of wisdom knew fromhabit, linen women and au courant restaurants have lately cottoned on to. As agastronomic enterprise, tea has heritage, it's elastic with opportunity and iseminently marketable. Unlike coffee, which stands alone and waits for no one,tea and its accompanying cakes prefer a long, chatty party.For thosewho appreciate exactitude, afternoon tea is actually an edited High Tea takenlate in the afternoon instead of early evening, with fewer, lighter courses thatveer more towards petit sweets and savouries than the full-bodied meats, breads,cheese and pickles - the true staples of High Tea - that historically reconcileda workingman's hunger at the end of the day. In fact, High Tea was even calledMeat Tea.Afternoon Tea or Low Tea was the contrivance of Anna Maria,seventh Duchess of Bedford (1783-1857), who, peckish around late afternoon,started having tea and breadstuffs to assuage the hungry wait till dinner. Shestarted calling friends to these congresses and the noon tea party came to aboil.Now, the local scene is spilling over. Tea parties have poppedup everywhere - in private parlours, paid-for parlours, restaurants and evengardens and museums. In Delhi, it took Pamela Timms, an expat from Britain, anexperiment with a pre-ordered tea party to turn it into a weekend concept thatsix turns later demands more room at the tea table (where one seat goes at Rs800)."I've always been a fan of afternoon teas, having had many back home, andwas wondering how to introduce them to Delhi," says the originator of UperwaliChai (literally, high tea),a tea party that pops up at any suitably availablevenue."We do it the traditional way with cake stands, teapots andstrainers. Everything's laid out prettily." For Timms, afternoon tea is the mostperfect meal of the day, made fonder by her memories of afternoons spent bakingand entertaining aunts and cousins in Scotland. At Uperwali Chai, Timms, alongwith Laura Staring, her Dutch accomplice, lays out a 14-course spread(half-savoury, half-sweet ) and, naturally tea - iced and hot. While teaconvention calls for scones, Florentines, macaroons, Devonshire cream, cakes andcucumber sandwiches, Timms believes that tradition should keep up with thetimes. So, smoked fish paté on melba toast, cape gooseberry tarts,scones with homemade lemon curd, curry puffs and even mini uttapams have made itto her sessions.Restaurants, particularly ones with genteel manners,have always kept High Tea menus, although most really serve Low Tea, which istraditionally lighter. Incidentally, 'high' and 'low' were original epithets forthe height of the table on which the tea was served - 'high' for dining, and'low' for parlour furniture. Such precision hardly matters to restaurants. Onesthat put out a sterling High Tea are besieged by the kitty circuit whose womenhanker after the fashionable propriety of tea. Mocktails are also on the cardsfor those yet to appreciate tea. "In Bangalore, tea parties and coffee morningsare in vogue," reports Archana Shenoy, a journalist from that city. "Events thatwould happen over lunches and dinners are now slotted as tea parties and theyhappen at all the five-stars," she says. For the hotels, the chance to pick upbusiness in slack hours prompts tea-time discounts. They're usually all-womenaffairs, with lacquered hands picking extravagant menus where health juices andherbal teas supplement Earl Greys and Darjeeling first flushes. "And it's notjust sandwiches and pastries at these parties, meats like salmon, gourmet hamslike prosciutto and sausages - they're all here too," notes Shenoy. "The teaparty has clearly replaced the luncheon in vogue." While customstays true to time, it's a little hard to honour the laws on tableware. Afterall, few own egg-shell tea services or whimsical James Sadler pots. But foodfirst, accessories later (if ever),most believe. And in trying to keep the tableholy, hostesses are raiding Parsi or anglophile bakeries for buttered scones,muffins, tarts, tea cakes and mini quiches. Those who can't be bothered to sewit together can call the caterers, many of whom are now sharpening their teaskills. "We've had at least five to six private tea parties at our outlets inBombay," says Ashwin D'Souza, operations manager at Olive Bar & Kitchen. "Alot of baby showers and first birthdays are gloved in afternoon teas, as aresmall jewellery and art exhibitions. We've also been catering to home teaparties, where we provide the china as well," he says.Food blogger Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal believes it's the perfect alimentary come together. "It's not as expensive as a dinner party, since alcohol is excluded, and food is served in smaller portions," she says. Munshaw-Ghildiyal is planning her third annual, monsoon all-women tea afternoon in July, to which she invites women she admires. Her own enthusiasm for tea is expressed at these parties, where she gets to exhibit teas she has newly sampled and tea-based-recipes she has minted. "Like tea-smoked tofu and tea-smoked chicken, green tea loaves, flower tea and Turkish apple tea," she says. This time she plans throwing in a tea-leaf reader for taste.Alice Walker said tea to the English is really an indoorspicnic. We've joined the table.joeanna.rebello@timesgroup.com