My Best Cup of Tea

The Hospitality industry does its best to standardize and present the best
luxury brews, but tea is unique in that different persons using the same
ingredients always end up creating their very own style of brew. The ‘two
leaves and a bud’ play a major role in our lives; right from starting the
day, to getting refreshed at work. As cadets, we cherished tea rations
during training camps in the Academy; as sugar and milk powder could be
eaten plain, and when we had time and firewood, the tea leaves made a
heavenly brew. Most people fancy their cuppa; but for some, a little
hardship just isn’t their cup of tea.


While on ‘mountain warfare’ camp, our section had designed the field
fortification more to ward off nature’s attacks than conform to
conventional requirements (but we got away with it ;-). The
three-man-trench had overhead shelter and was spacious enough to sleep in.
When a downpour began at 2:00 AM we woke to the commotion of our less
fortunate comrades in other trenches salvaging what they could. The cold
mountain rain had scored an almost complete victory, and ensconced within
our cozy shelter, we could only watch helplessly.

Our relief was short-lived, as water collecting uphill of our trench burst
the embankment and flooded us knee deep. I dashed out into the rain to
divert the water, and was soaked wet and chilled to the bone when I
returned from the mission. The water stopped flowing in and we baled out
what was there. Exhausted and miserable, I wrapped myself in a sodden
blanket, waiting for the warmth that would only come at sunrise (thinking
how appropriate the term ‘wet blanket’ is).

A bonfire or hot drink was out of the question without dry firewood. We
did not order something hot and fresh although it may now seem the most
practical thing to have done, simply because Dehradun was 15 km as the crow
flies, and 65 km by road, and Domino’s was to start operations in India 15
years later. Through a cold-induced trance I thought I was hallucinating
when my buddy Paramjit shook me awake to a most invigorating cup of tea.
He had used his precious tea rations and held a mess-tin of water a precise
height over a tiny flickering candle-flame for over three quarters of an
hour to bring it to boil.

The creamy-rich sweet hot tea was truly a god-send, and even though we had
to filter the tea-leaves with our teeth, I am sure there could be no better
beverage.

Jai Hind

Lt Col Satish M Vaidya (Retd)
satish.vaidya@itcwelcomgroup.in