Udhagamandalam’s first tea room, Buddies Cafe, backed by the Tea Board serves artisanal brews from small estates in the neighbourhood

The Buddies Cafe —Tea Board Tea Room stocks over100 varieties of tea sourced from around the world inlcuding South African red bush teas (Rooibos teas), Japanese matcha, Orange pu-ruh, Egyptian herbal infusions, Nilgiris long ging and more

I look out of the window and enjoy the chilly weather in Udhagamandalam. Inside, Nirmal Raj of Buddies Cafe — Tea Board Tea Room is concentrating on brewing a perfect cup of tea.

His newly-opened cafe, conveniently located near the scenic Botanical Gardens, is the town’s first tea room. It is also the country’s first cafe that is backed by Tea Board India, a Government agency that promotes the cultivation, processing, trade and export of tea. A tray, with three classic kettles, arrives. Nirmal spoons tea leaves into basket strainers nestled in the pots and sets an hourglass timer. Exactly five minutes later, I am revelling on the calming flavours and relaxing scent of peach tea.“The traditional hourglass tea timer gives the exact brewing time for any type of infusion or tea. It is five minutes for herbal and fruit infusions and three minutes for black tea,” explains Nirmal as he fills the glass with another pink-hued hot brew named Old Memories. It is tangy and sweet, with flavours of black currants, raspberry, cherries, kiwis, blue berries and hibiscus.