Whether it is a dreamy escape from your routine or a strong yet
bitter-sweet flavour to start your day, a cup of your favourite brew is
sure to uplift your spirits and make you feel better if you make the
right choice. Have you ever noticed how your mood determines the type of
beverage you need at that time of the day? With a variety of teas and
coffees on offer, it is time to choose the right blend apart from the
standard brew. Have a cuppa, which suits your emotional and physical
needs.
Tea
Masala Adrak Chai: For never-ending brainstorming sessions
A riot of flavours, the special chai masala using dry Indian spices and fresh adrak, makes this tea a must-have for bonding sessions with friends. It is also made for those long, creative meetings when you have to brainstorm.
Black Tea: For a strong flavour and to get your brain running
With its high caffeine content, black tea is stronger than any other tea, and is best when you get up with a hangover. Besides immediately reviving your senses, it will help you kickstart your day and give you a boost which will stay through the day.
Green Tea: To calm those frayed nerves
With its natural grassy flavour, green tea is the ultimate stress buster. A healthy option for those who want to build up their metabolism and cut fat, green tea is stimulating and yet helps keep your nerves in control.
Tea
Masala Adrak Chai: For never-ending brainstorming sessions
A riot of flavours, the special chai masala using dry Indian spices and fresh adrak, makes this tea a must-have for bonding sessions with friends. It is also made for those long, creative meetings when you have to brainstorm.
Black Tea: For a strong flavour and to get your brain running
With its high caffeine content, black tea is stronger than any other tea, and is best when you get up with a hangover. Besides immediately reviving your senses, it will help you kickstart your day and give you a boost which will stay through the day.
Green Tea: To calm those frayed nerves
With its natural grassy flavour, green tea is the ultimate stress buster. A healthy option for those who want to build up their metabolism and cut fat, green tea is stimulating and yet helps keep your nerves in control.
White Tea: To feel healthy
Completely opposite from black tea is the white tea, which has tea leaves plucked when they are just buds and not yet fully opened. It has the least amount of caffeine and contains the highest level of antioxidants. Since it is least processed, it has a light flavour to it.
Flavoured herbal teas: When you are feeling off-colour
A variety of flavoured teas using herbs like the jasmine, lemon, chamomile, mint, etc., can have a soothing effect on your body. Using strong as well as fresh flowers, fruits, seeds or roots, each of them is good for some or the other medical condition like sore throat, insomnia, digestion, etc. A cup of herbal tea will definitely make you feel better and get you back in action faster. w Iced tea: When you are feeling thirsty
Coffee
Black Coffee: When you want to extend your day
When you're feeling exhausted, stressed and yet want to extend your day to finish off with pending work, get yourself a plain black coffee, with no sugar, milk or additional flavouring. Black coffee strictly means business.
Mocha Latte: To indulge your sweet tooth
When you want a sugary treat, just go in for a mocha latte laced with hot chocolate. A tasty drink, it will give you a caffeine boost.
Espresso: When you are dead tired
An espresso will get you moving and is for those who have to rush to work or classes early morning. The strong flavour is necessary to wake you up and started. It is not for those who aren't regular coffee drinkers. You can add milk to tone down the taste if necessary.
Chocolate Chip Frappuccino: When you are feeling relaxed and cheerful
The chocolate chip frappuccino is for those feeling carefree and at peace. Using chocolate chips and sweetened whipped cream, this mocha flavoured beverage is a delicious, coffee-flavoured drink.
Cappuccino: Your after-dinner fix
Skip the dessert and get yourself a cappuccino. With its dairy and sugar content, it is appropriate as an after-dinner digestive too.
Iced Coffee: When you need to feel refreshed
Just sit down in your favourite corner and sip on the classic iced coffee when you are feeling rushed or stressed. It will refresh you while also giving you the much needed caffeine-fix.
The man who brews magic in studio para TNN | Feb 11, 2016, 12.30 PM IST
The man who brews magic in studio para
Name: Ratan Patra (aka Lombu Ratan) Howrah, 56 years old, Passed Class IX
Job: Tea-seller at Tollygunge studio para
This resume of a tea vendor would've never made a story, had Ratan not been the most sought-after cha-wallah in studio para. The reason -his penchant for creating amazing brews with just about anything under the sun! But Ratan's is a story with many twists. So, read on...
FAMILY BACKGROUND
I'm a very happy man, who can make `designer' cha. My wife Aparna works at Tajmahal Rambikash Kendro and looks after home. My daughter Jui is happily married, while my son, Amartya, passed matric with five letters and star marks and is currently studying in Class XI. What more could I want? I work honestly for 10-12 hours a day and don't need a pill to sleep. The studio is my second home and I love it when the first thing the artistes say is, `Kaaj surur aage Ratandar hather cha khabo'. I never make tea at home and all my flavoured tea recipes are my own. My tea's USP is the use of fresh ingredients. Now, with God's grace, I have a decent bank balance and peo ple ask me why I don't open my own tea shop. But the truth is, the studio atmosphere is my oxygen, and the way the artistes praise my tea and production managers plead with me to adjust my dates gives me an ego boost. On principle, I serve the party that books me first even if another is willingly to pay me double.
A HAPPENING PAST
I was into sports and music and used to play volleyball. I also used to work in jute mills. But after the mills closed down one after the other, I started my own cement, stone and brick shop. That too, I had to shut down, as creditors didn't pay up and I got neck deep in debt. Then, 15 years back, I came to my sister's house in Tollygunge in search of a job and met Ladenda -a tea seller in studio para. He would take me along and station me at a shooting spot so that he could go to another spot and earn double. He never paid me, but my breakfast, lunch and dinner used to come free from the production house. That meant a lot to me back then. At that time, lebu, lal and dudh cha, and black coffee and normal coffee were the only varieties available. Most of the time, people would shout at me, saying that I couldn't even make a decent cup of tea or coffee, as either the lebu cha would taste bitter or the coffee would taste more like milk. I remember once Indrani Halder asked for black coffee and I mixed coffee powder with lal cha. When I served her, she almost vomited! That day , I promised myself that a day would come when artistes would vouch by my tea.
THE FIRST BREAK
Production manager Tapas Biswas gave me the first break for Raj Mukherjee's Nagordola, which starred Roopa Ganguly and Indrani Halder. My first remuneration was `350, while today , I charge `4,000 to `6,000 per day depending on the head count and the production house. The amount is higher for a Bollywood or English film. I had started business with one stove, a kettle, a flask, a jar of tea leaves, a bit of sugar and a bowl of milk. But now, I have five assistants to help me keep track of my 19 flasks, eight stoves and eight kettles, among other things. From Earl Grey , green tea to normal tea, I serve everything. I generally buy tea priced at `300 per kg and all the fruits I use to make designer tea are fresh. I only work for films and not TV serials, as the latter doesn't ensure profits.
THE TURNING POINT
One fine morning, I thought why couldn't I make tea with raw mango pulp instead of lemon? So, I boiled raw mango, strained the pulp, added it to tea liquor and mixed sugar, chat masala, rock salt and pepper.
Then I refrigerated it and served it to the shooting unit.
Everyone was like, `What is this? We want more!' Then I started experimenting with pineapple, grapes, orange, pomegranate and all types of juicy fruits and all became instant hits. The first cup of tea I serve on the sets is made using ginger paste, rock salt, basil leaf paste, lime water and all say it's quite refreshing.
THE MOST BIZZARE TEA
Want to get rid of uneasiness? Have a cup of liquor tea made using chili sauce mixed with lemon juice, sugar, chat masala, rock salt and pepper! Down with a headache? Try Lombu Ratan's liquor tea mixed with a dollop of butter and pepper. Once I made sandesh tea and it got me a lot of applause. I was actually making the usual tea when I noticed that the milk had turned stale and sour. So, I mixed notun gurer sandesh in the tea and everyone just loved it. No one asks me to make dudh cha or lebu cha and even when I make it, there are no takers (laughs)!
A BAD EXPERIENCE
Production manager Arupda once took me to Sikkim for a documentary on the hill state's government.He still owes me `69,000 after all these years.
CELEBRITY CLIENTS
Yusuf Pathan and Gautam Gambhir came here for an ad shoot and had my aam cha. Both became addicted to it! On the first day of Barfi!'s shoot, I made lemon black coffee for Priyanka didi (Chopra) and from the next day , she used to say , `Mujhe makeup se phele Ratanda ke hath ka lemon black coffee chahiye'. She is extremely nice.Ranbir Kapoor liked my aam cha.During the Raavan shoot, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was so happy with the varieties of tea I served her that she gave me `10,000 as bakshish before leaving. But I generally don't take money from anyone; I just need their blessings and love.Nawazuddin Siddiqui gifted me a T-shirt while he was doing Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa, as he was so happy with my designer tea. Sourav Ganguly , too, is fond of my tea.
MY ACTING STINT
I have played a police officer innumerable times. And I love acting, as I can earn double on the same set by acting and selling tea. I was part of films like Target, Anjan Dutt's first Byomkesh Bakshi, Ballygunge Court, Madly Bangalee, Mukti and Sweetheart, among others. That apart, I was part of TV serials like Time Diary, Chorabali and many more. I miss art director Samir Chanda, the man who gave me most of the work.Uttam Kumar is my matinee idol and I have one regret that I couldn't serve him my special tea. I don't watch today's Bengali films much, as I'm an UttamSuchitra fan. I like Dev a lot for his behavior, but my fave actor is Sabyasachi Chakrabarty , as I haven't come across someone as suave as him.
Job: Tea-seller at Tollygunge studio para
This resume of a tea vendor would've never made a story, had Ratan not been the most sought-after cha-wallah in studio para. The reason -his penchant for creating amazing brews with just about anything under the sun! But Ratan's is a story with many twists. So, read on...
FAMILY BACKGROUND
I'm a very happy man, who can make `designer' cha. My wife Aparna works at Tajmahal Rambikash Kendro and looks after home. My daughter Jui is happily married, while my son, Amartya, passed matric with five letters and star marks and is currently studying in Class XI. What more could I want? I work honestly for 10-12 hours a day and don't need a pill to sleep. The studio is my second home and I love it when the first thing the artistes say is, `Kaaj surur aage Ratandar hather cha khabo'. I never make tea at home and all my flavoured tea recipes are my own. My tea's USP is the use of fresh ingredients. Now, with God's grace, I have a decent bank balance and peo ple ask me why I don't open my own tea shop. But the truth is, the studio atmosphere is my oxygen, and the way the artistes praise my tea and production managers plead with me to adjust my dates gives me an ego boost. On principle, I serve the party that books me first even if another is willingly to pay me double.
A HAPPENING PAST
I was into sports and music and used to play volleyball. I also used to work in jute mills. But after the mills closed down one after the other, I started my own cement, stone and brick shop. That too, I had to shut down, as creditors didn't pay up and I got neck deep in debt. Then, 15 years back, I came to my sister's house in Tollygunge in search of a job and met Ladenda -a tea seller in studio para. He would take me along and station me at a shooting spot so that he could go to another spot and earn double. He never paid me, but my breakfast, lunch and dinner used to come free from the production house. That meant a lot to me back then. At that time, lebu, lal and dudh cha, and black coffee and normal coffee were the only varieties available. Most of the time, people would shout at me, saying that I couldn't even make a decent cup of tea or coffee, as either the lebu cha would taste bitter or the coffee would taste more like milk. I remember once Indrani Halder asked for black coffee and I mixed coffee powder with lal cha. When I served her, she almost vomited! That day , I promised myself that a day would come when artistes would vouch by my tea.
THE FIRST BREAK
Production manager Tapas Biswas gave me the first break for Raj Mukherjee's Nagordola, which starred Roopa Ganguly and Indrani Halder. My first remuneration was `350, while today , I charge `4,000 to `6,000 per day depending on the head count and the production house. The amount is higher for a Bollywood or English film. I had started business with one stove, a kettle, a flask, a jar of tea leaves, a bit of sugar and a bowl of milk. But now, I have five assistants to help me keep track of my 19 flasks, eight stoves and eight kettles, among other things. From Earl Grey , green tea to normal tea, I serve everything. I generally buy tea priced at `300 per kg and all the fruits I use to make designer tea are fresh. I only work for films and not TV serials, as the latter doesn't ensure profits.
THE TURNING POINT
One fine morning, I thought why couldn't I make tea with raw mango pulp instead of lemon? So, I boiled raw mango, strained the pulp, added it to tea liquor and mixed sugar, chat masala, rock salt and pepper.
Then I refrigerated it and served it to the shooting unit.
Everyone was like, `What is this? We want more!' Then I started experimenting with pineapple, grapes, orange, pomegranate and all types of juicy fruits and all became instant hits. The first cup of tea I serve on the sets is made using ginger paste, rock salt, basil leaf paste, lime water and all say it's quite refreshing.
THE MOST BIZZARE TEA
Want to get rid of uneasiness? Have a cup of liquor tea made using chili sauce mixed with lemon juice, sugar, chat masala, rock salt and pepper! Down with a headache? Try Lombu Ratan's liquor tea mixed with a dollop of butter and pepper. Once I made sandesh tea and it got me a lot of applause. I was actually making the usual tea when I noticed that the milk had turned stale and sour. So, I mixed notun gurer sandesh in the tea and everyone just loved it. No one asks me to make dudh cha or lebu cha and even when I make it, there are no takers (laughs)!
A BAD EXPERIENCE
Production manager Arupda once took me to Sikkim for a documentary on the hill state's government.He still owes me `69,000 after all these years.
CELEBRITY CLIENTS
Yusuf Pathan and Gautam Gambhir came here for an ad shoot and had my aam cha. Both became addicted to it! On the first day of Barfi!'s shoot, I made lemon black coffee for Priyanka didi (Chopra) and from the next day , she used to say , `Mujhe makeup se phele Ratanda ke hath ka lemon black coffee chahiye'. She is extremely nice.Ranbir Kapoor liked my aam cha.During the Raavan shoot, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was so happy with the varieties of tea I served her that she gave me `10,000 as bakshish before leaving. But I generally don't take money from anyone; I just need their blessings and love.Nawazuddin Siddiqui gifted me a T-shirt while he was doing Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa, as he was so happy with my designer tea. Sourav Ganguly , too, is fond of my tea.
MY ACTING STINT
I have played a police officer innumerable times. And I love acting, as I can earn double on the same set by acting and selling tea. I was part of films like Target, Anjan Dutt's first Byomkesh Bakshi, Ballygunge Court, Madly Bangalee, Mukti and Sweetheart, among others. That apart, I was part of TV serials like Time Diary, Chorabali and many more. I miss art director Samir Chanda, the man who gave me most of the work.Uttam Kumar is my matinee idol and I have one regret that I couldn't serve him my special tea. I don't watch today's Bengali films much, as I'm an UttamSuchitra fan. I like Dev a lot for his behavior, but my fave actor is Sabyasachi Chakrabarty , as I haven't come across someone as suave as him.
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