New in town: Watch a tea bud bloom in your cup

Witness a storm in a teacup? Well, that’s probably a bit dramatic to describe Tea Villa Cafe that’s located bang opposite Globus now  Marks and Spencer store. But there’s definitely, a lot going on, then simple chai and conversations here. To begin with, you get a place that aims to give you something extra with that steaming cup of tea. While we are no fans of the food served here, we would definitely recommend the place purely for the variety of teas on offer. It’s a tea buffet if we can call it that, for every palate. There are tea leaves you can pick according to your zodiac sign, and around 50 of the best teas from across the world, a fact, we are informed about  by a huge board mounted on a wall, in a section of the tea cafe, with different varieties of tea on display. 

What’s on the menu? Silver Tips Imperial Tea which is the most expensive tea in the world priced at Rs 2 lakh per kg. It is anti-ageing (sold here for Rs 995 per cup), Premium Pu-Erh Tea which is a vintage tea from China (Rs 495 per cup), Monkey Chief which is from the high mountains of China and is actually picked by monkeys trained for the job (Rs 495 per cup). Other options include black tea like Keemum Maofeng, Lapsang Souchong, etc.

White Tea like Silver needle, etc. Green tea options include Gyokuru, Gunpowder, Ganmaicha, etc. They also have fruit infused teas like cranberry, green apple, etc and  flowering green tea where you can literally see a tea bud bloom in your cup (Rs 450 onwards), Oolong teas and Rooibos teas. And for those looking for a chilled glass of iced tea (Rs 150 each), there are some interesting flavours including one made of cucumber. Our pick however is the apple cinnamon and the green apple, both refreshingly sweet. With access to wi-fi, and a good mix of tea and coffees on offer, this is a good stopover to refuel on chai. Divided into an upper and lower section, the place has been creatively done up. From a wall that showcases the teas on offer, to a sculpture of the female form sporting tea cups for a garb, there are enough conversation starters.

AT: Tea Villa Cafe, Hill Road,
Bandra (W)