Tea Time with the Indonique (rhymes with unique) Tea Company

I am a coffee drinker. Two cups, every morning, is my cherished ritual.

It wasn't always so; my first beverage of choice was black tea which I drank every day after school, while watching the desperately gothic and deeply earnest supernatural soap opera known as Dark Shadows.  God I loved that show, and its creepy manor house crawling with vampires, ghosts, witches, tormented souls, weekly cliff hangers and the surprisingly frequent technical gaffes and acting blunders (stage hands caught on film, boom mike shadows across actor's faces, etc.) that were caught on film for posterity. Consequently I cannot think of tea without a very fond association with American-British kitsch. I make no apologies-- it is what it is.

I don't know when I switched from tea to coffee, (college days, perhaps?) but I still enjoy the occasional hot cup of tea.  My favorites back in the day were Darjeeling and Earl Grey.  But somewhere along the line I stopped seeking out really good tea, and so it is no wonder I stopped drinking it. 

Not so long ago, I was invited to taste a selection of teas from the Indonique Tea Company (full disclosure: the tea was complimentary) and set about brewing a proper cup of tea.

I say proper, because there is a right and a wrong way to make tea.  I immediately proved this to myself by trying their green tea first, because frankly I had never been much of a fan of green tea until I drank the one sent by Indonique.  So that's what green tea is supposed to taste like! I exulted.  When  steeped for the recommended three or four minutes,  (not one second more), the bitterness that had repelled me from green teas in the past was simply gone, leaving behind a bracing and clean tasting tea which I found very relaxing and refreshing at the same time. It made me even more excited to try their black teas. They did not disappoint.

You who read my blog regularly know that I love a bit of ritual and tradition.  That tea pot you see in the picture above belonged to my Grandmother, and it has a campy surprise (not unlike the Dark Shadows music box theme for "Josette") hidden within. You see, there is a small music box hidden in the base of the tea pot, with an on/off switch that is released when the pot is lifted off the table to serve tea.

So every time I lift the tea pot to pour tea, (preferably while asking "Shall I be Mother?" which, if memory serves correctly, is a quote from  Cary Grant's eccentric aunt in Arsenic and Old Lace--) the tea pot starts to play this little tune:

Now I ask you, who can resist a spot of tea (for two!) under such conditions?

Here's something else I like about Indonique tea: 

In their packages of tea, they secret away a little postcard image of the Taj Mahal, so that I can day dream that I am receiving a note from a far off and romantic land while I sip the tea. 

To get your own taste of really excellent tea, and hopefully a post card from the Taj, look no further than indonique.com , and while you are there be sure to visit the page where they share some entertaining  "East Meets West" Punjab-Hip Hop-Rap style music videos.  It's quite something and will make you sit up and want to listen to new music while you try their chai tea blends. (Their chai was an especially big hit with the men in my family).

Indonique used to have a store front in New Orleans, until hurricane Katrine blew into town and forced them to reconsider their business model. Their solution has been to create an online business, with ten percent of their wholesale profits going to charity. I like that. 

Comments

[Jen]

Hello!

I am a tea lover. You're so right that there is a proper way to make tea so that it's good. I know some of it.

I discovered your web site while searching for a photo of rhubarb to pilfer for my own blog (at least until my own plant gets bigger). Saw your entry on the rhubarb (a tart, I think that's what it was.) Love the name and approach of your site. I cook mostly because it's necessary, healthier and because I grow vegetables and herbs. I'm "novice" and have no desire to be a Rachel Ray, Martha Stewart or any of the others; however, I do find Jacques Torres to be rather yummy himself. A man who molds chocolate, enjoys wine and speaks with a French accent. Incroyable!

Keep up the entertaining and informative blog!

[Debra S.]

Immediately, your teapot caught my eye.
I have the same musical (tea for two) teapot. It was my Grandmother's. When she downsized 2 years ago she passed the "Magic Teapot" to me. Throughout my early childhood a magical tea ritual was performed at her home. Only after hands were methodically waved over the pot and the magic words spoken, was the pot lifted to play it's tune and pour it's elixir. Thanks for remnding me of a wonderful memory with my Grandmother, and sharing a new brew as well!

[Dark Shadows tea]

My husband and I are Dark Shadows fans also, and have the entire series on DVD. We are also tea drinkers and I have been trying for some time now to determine what the pattern is of the china tea pot collection that is used on the show. Do you happen to know?