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Cutting the old chai

Sohini Das Gupta meets Shivani Chakravarty who promises tea-drinkers an "exalted gourmet tea experience" with her online venture Exalte

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For Shivani Chakravarty, workdays must start with some soul-soothing, aromatic tea. Lofty adjective for the morning cuppa for some, but not for the 37-year-old who gave up a corporate job to ensure that it is indeed so by launching Exalte, an 'infusion' company. Not only has she perfected brewing her own cup, she's determined to do the same for her customers too. Tea, the mum-of-two suggests, should be more than a pool of milk and sugar settling down the pit of your belly like a sinking alarm clock. But how does one ensure that? Shivani decided to be the one to find out. And that's how Exalte was born in June 2014.

It was an interesting switch from coffee to tea. "I come from a family that's in the coffee business. Naturally, I've been a part of many passionate discussions on both drinks. While I saw the coffee culture bloom in India, tea remained largely under-exploited. Travelling overseas made me realise the potential of specialty teas."

Shivani left her job as a product planner at an international lingerie brand, started with some serious research and found huge potential in introducing a "tea-drinking nation" to leafy aromas beyond cutting chai.

Discussing her online stock, she says, "We have different blends of black, green and white tea. Most are of the Darjeeling variety, but there are some from Assam and Nilgiri." The health benefits shift with the variety you are looking at. "Green tea is popular as a weight loss aid, while the antioxidants in white tea are said to boost immunity, stall and prevent ageing and cancer," she shares.

Surprisingly, what is really makes waves is the herbal tea, which does not contain tea leaves. It is an aromatic infusion of different herbs and flora – marigold, lavender, rosehip, rosebud, hibiscus, chamomile and jasmine.

With such flavours Shivani hopes to lure youth over to the tea-sipping side. "The young are more open to experimenting. When they hear of an apple-cinnamon or a rose petal-bay leaf-almond mix, they want to try it." observes Shivani.

This tea aficionado is a stickler for quality. "Tea bags crush the leaves and compromises the flavour. So, I have included tea-infusing accessories like stainless steel strainers and detachable mini-kettles as a part of my online range." She uses workshops and tea events to spread word about what she calls the "exalted gourmet tea experience".

So does she plan to expand her online stock to a tea parlour? "At some point, sure. Right now, I am focusing on generating more buzz for product awareness and keeping quality my top priority."

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