ISLAMABAD, Dec 20 (EW) : With the onset of winter season, a lot of young tea lovers are being drawn towards the federal capital’s kiosks and restaurants offering aromatic, flavourful varieties of tea.
Tea is one of the most frequently consumed beverages in Pakistan and like anywhere in the world, gatherings remain incomplete without a hot cup of tea.
Previously people preferred varieties such as black tea, spiced tea, green tea, Kashmiri tea, and ‘Doodh Patti’ however, with passing time, new tea flavour have become the talk of the town.
Flavoured tea is a tea with tea leaves as a base, and added flavour to it, to make the culinary experience more interesting. Flavour in tea can be included in the form of inclusions such as spices, nuts, flowers, or as added flavour extracts such as essential oils of ginger, lemon and spices.
Natural flavours in the form of essential oil, oleoresin, extract, distillate etc. are often added to the tea during manufacturing to produce a uniform, aromatic yet natural product. To complement the aroma and enhance the sensory appeal, natural colours are often added as well. So the strawberry tea would be bright pink with sweet notes of strawberry while blueberry would be bluish purple smelling of fresh blueberries.
Manufacturers use jasmine flowers along with tea leaves during the drying process. The jasmine scent molecules are adsorbed by the tea leaves and are retained even after removal of jasmine flowers. Modern technique use extracts or oils spraying on tea leaves which gives an equal effect and is better manageable and cost-effective. The resultant tea has a delicate jasmine aroma sought by many.
