A tea Martini please

James Bond does not drink tea, but he does drink a lot of Martinis. If you enjoy your cuppa and wish to be as suave as the super spy here is your chance to do so with a tea Martini. Made with a specially harvested classic Darjeeling tea, the cocktails, reflect the classic traits of Darjeeling teas — attractive hue and aroma. If you happen to be in Delhi, you could try the new cocktails at Sidecar with the specially harvested tea collection from Makaibari. Named Summer Solstice, the harvest is from the Kodobari fields of Makaibari in Darjeeling. Using these teas, Sidecar has worked on six signature cocktails with the lush, second flush tea.

This is the first time a tea estate and a bar, Sidecar have worked together to create signature cocktails. Sidecar is currently ranked 16 on Asia’s 50 best bars and the Makaibari tea estate has the distinction of having built the first tea factory in the world.

Summer Solstice tea from Makaibari estate is harvested on June 21. This tie-up according to Yangdup Lama founder of Sidecar, will also go a long way into breaking the stereotype associated with tea drinkers. “Tea is considered to be an old man’s drink,” the mixologist and author comments. “The truth is tea is versatile and can blend into cocktails without overpowering taste. The collaboration took four months of intense planning and our team is proud of the outcome.”

Makaibari happens to be world’s first organic tea estate and produces India’s most expensive tea – Silvertips Imperial. Makaibari is also the first Fairtrade Certified Tea Estate in the world – 1988.

On choosing Darjeeling second flush tea, Yangdup explains, “Tea gardens in Darjeeling make classic style teas. The reason I opted for second flush is because it is not as delicate as first flush and the flavour of the teas can be stored for a longer period of time. First flush is definitely good but I feel it is best to enjoy as tea. When I started working on the collaboration I was sure I wanted the summer solstice from a terrain in Makaibari that enjoys all weather conditions throughout year. Which is why I chose the tea from Kodobari region.”

Talking about the drinks Yangdup said the motive is to expose the versatility of tea through the series of tea cocktails to the younger crowd.