Tea – A drink that settles the stomach and concentrates the mind . What a wonderful drink is it ? 🙂
Many of us consume tea on a daily basis as the spirit of tea is one of peace , comfort and refinement. But, how often do you take the time to truly discover each of the aromas that hit your nose, and the flavors that meet your palette?
Here I am unraveling the incredible variety of tastes, textures and aromas of teas from all over the world that’s available at TEA TRAILS .
The light is kind , the space is cozy and the tempo … calm , charming and leisurely at the Tea trails Bistro .
I visited Tea Trails as a part of a bloggers meet which was set up for tasting the creative and interesting menu setup by them . While I mention being here for a tasting event its not just consuming tea in the liquid form as a drink . Here at Tea trails they even have food infused with tea which is paired with some beautifully brewed tea .They offer 80 varieties of teas with various blends , flavors ranging from white to green to black to herbal to tapioca bubble tea and so on .
The hot beverages here are served with a sand timer and a card educating one about the steeping time for each of them .
We began the tasting session with the White tea paired with Bun Maska starting from the light to stronger versions of tea .
White tea (Silver Needle ) : White Tea is light and gentle which is basically derived from the fine silvery -white hair on the unopened buds of a tea plant and very light when compared to the rest of the variants . The derivation of this tea makes it rare and expensive too .White teas should be prepared with 80°C (180°F) water (not boiling) and steeped for 2 to 3 minutes.The most important about white tea is its steeping time.If you do not brew the tea leaves long enough, you will be a left with a very weak brew that tastes mostly like hot water.
The Bun Maska : served with this white tea was soft and rich filled in with a smudge of Gulkand . I personally loved it .
Kashmiri Kahwa paired with Burmese Salad : Kashmiri Kahwa is an exotic blend of green tea , almonds and spices . I had never seen a green tea look this beautiful with the almonds floating in and the flavor being so delightful..
Note to all – The water used to make green tea should never be heated to boiling point . It just needs the water to get hot ( Hottest brewing temperature could get up to 80 to 87°C) and not up to the boiling point level . Steeping green tea too hot or too long will result in a bitter taste which is not how the green tea should actually taste .
The Burmese salad : Like I mentioned Tea trails has creatively curated the menu by infusing tea into the food offered here . So, this Burmese salad is made up of a generous amount of lettuce , roasted nuts and dal with fermented green tea infused into it . It was fresh , Vibrant and crunchy . One of their signature dishes .
Bruschetta : Yummy tomato topping that was fresh , ripe and tangy in its superb Italian way . To showcase an even different version of it they infused fermented green tea and olives into it . How amazing right ? 🙂
Matcha and broccoli soup : The pairing of the two proved to be an excellent choice for me . The soup was rich and creamy and due to the presence of Matcha it did have a strong vegetal taste mixed with a sweet after-caste .
Marbled egg salad : You see it ? Yes it looks very beautiful and those patterns on the egg white is that of the infused tea . The salad is refreshing with a lot of lettuce , bell peppers , olives and the tea infused coddled eggs all of them with a garlic hinted dressing . It was beautiful and surely different from the regular salads due to presence of tea in it . The flavor of tea stood out in this salad. Probably i would experiment it with a change of dressing used here.
After a short break from drinking tea we got back to the strongest of them all – The Black tea paired with smoked chicken sandwich.
The aroma delivered by this pair was just amazing ! Black tea is more oxidized than the rest of them mentioned above and the fragrance says it all . As the name suggests the smoked chicken filler evidently consists of chicken smoked and tossed in barbecue sauce and served in between the bread .
Could Kullad Chai and Onion Pakodas ever go wrong ? 🙂
For the ones who are not familiar with the Kullad Chai -> Kullad Chai (Contains milk) is one amazing tea that is spiced to perfection and served in earthen cup and the aroma is something one cannot miss as this drink is served on your table . Kullad chai was another favorite of mine which i enjoyed drinking while I bit into the crispy onion fritters made up of gram flour , rice flour and basic indian spices . A very safe and delightful combination.
Lychee Bubble Tea : If you haven’t tried Bubble Tea yet . I recommend you to get there NOW! 🙂 ( I am not very sure if there are any other outlets in Bangalore that serve these bubble teas ) . Whatta fun drink ! Its basically a lychee flavored iced tea to which fruit bubbles are added . As you drink you pop a bubble into your mouth and burst it to release the fruity concoction . If you find this interesting and entertaining enough you would forget to judge the drink instead get busy with collecting as many bubbles you can and bursting them . Look at how happy i am with my lychee bubble tea 😉
3 Cheese Risotto : As the name suggests its a combination of Parmesan , Cheddar and Gyrueue cheese which is one of the best options for a hearty main . The portion served would look quite small but you should know the combination of these 3 cheese cooked with rice and green tea butter can more than fill any stomach . This was an accomplished dish, with each element being extremely well executed.
Better Wife : Refreshing mock-tail made up of . . . . . Its named ‘Better wife’ for each one of you to keep guessing its ingredients . And I believe I shouldn’t be a spoiler and let out the ingredients here . But, its all one needs in terms of flavour and feel .
To finish off the evening we were offered 3 kinds of pastries to take a trip for our sweet tooth’s sake .
1) Mixed fruit pastry : Melange of fresh fruits , topped with whipped cream between the sheets of soft sponge .
2) Red velvet pastry : White cream and cheese frosted layers of red soft sponge .
3) Dutch Truffle Pastry : Sugar soaked chocolate sponge sandwiched and coated all over with deep and delicious belgian chocolate .
Among the above three pastries what I find myself picking up is this lovely Dutch truffle pastry that could captivate my heart . The Dutch truffle always says “Hello! Check me out!”.
I loved the vibe and energy of Tea trails and the friendly staff makes your experience even better . The concept is unique and inviting due to which it was fun exploring their tea infused menu . Great venue, great vibe, great aroma and the delicious tea+food – all of which makes for a really fabulous tea time.
If you cannot make it to this outlet located in Koramangala 7th block (just opposite Raheja Arcade) you can always place an order for home delivery as it has tie-ups with Swiggy and Zomato . Enjoy your day with some tea and tea infused food this time 🙂
