It’s no secret that I have always been hopelessly in love with tea. And this love for the golden liquid is something which runs in my genes, I believe.

On most days, a big, bold cup of morning tea is what makes me ready to go out in the big, bad world for the day’s work. Again, a calming brew of tea is what I resort to, after the long, hectic day at office, to unwind.

The flavours of course vary with my mood, season, timings and company. With friends over some Adda it has to be a masala tea, while for sultry summer afternoons I prefer something refreshing with a hint of mint or lemongrass.

So when I was invited to a Tea-Tasting session at the Karma Kettle, I certainly was looking forward to it. Located at Swinhoe Street, KK is housed inside the Ivy House and impressed me with it’s minimalistic and cosy charm. The outdoor seating area is perfect for not-so-warm days and I mentally made a note take my sister there very soon.

KK retail is the perfect place to get the perfect gift for tea-lovers. They have assorted boxes for those looking to try out new blends, as well as pretty tin boxes of single flavours for those who have found their comfort. One can buy loose leaves, tea bags and tea-sticks here. For the uninitiated, Tea Sticks are the cool new thing in the tea scene and can be used in both hot and cold versions of the drink.

We, at the tasting session, tried over 20 variants of their teas and I loved quite a few of them. What I also loved were the romantic names given to each variant. While Gulmarg was a tribute to the famous kahwah of Kashmir, Istanbul was a fruit-floral twist on the Turkish Apple tea. The fruity infusions were pretty interesting too. On one hand there was the predictable Aam Salaam with the punch of raw mango, and on the other there was the not-so-predictable Passionately, with passion fruit and ripe mango extracts.

In all my visit to the Karma Kettle was a genuinely wonderful evening, with some friends old and new, happy smiles, spontaneous conversations, and of course cups and cups of excellent tea.

P.S. My personal favourite of the evening was the Maya, which is black tea with chocolate and a hint of cranberry.