'La Source', those are the words i go by and it is my bible for many things in life .. the thought, the belief, the product, the person, the enterprise. It all begins from the Source .. 'Srot' as we say in sanskrit. And it has stayed on with me as Anandini came into this world. If i cannot sip what i serve, how can i make you sip what i craft or create. And that is all there is to say, if you wouldn't let your child have it, then how come you are sipping it?
To know where the tea leaves grow, what does a tea flower look like, which part of the country does the tea that you sip, grow, what is the name of the tea estate, is it on a mountain top, does it have shade trees to protect it from the harsh sun, do the tea bushes grow at a particular height, what would it feel like to walk inbetween the bushes, who plucks them, which season yields the best crop of that particular estate, from the entire tea plucking season which could be from March to November, which is that flush (pluck) that your palate dances too? Think, imagine, challenge, grow, know more.
Question and let the Producer, Blender, Manufacturer, Tea Sommelier educate. Till you don't know you will never sip and till you don't ask, you will never know :) Hence know the journey of that cup that you hold close every morning with the steam mingling with your thoughts as your eyes drift with ease and the lines ease away .. know the journey of that cup from the Estate to the golden infusion. It isn't just any beverage, it is that which you are sipping, that your body is absorbing, that your cells are reacting to, it is that which you put your belief in, that which is healthy. It is your reflection of life in that particular cup.
Happy sipping :)