I always used to wonder if a fetish towards black tea is like this hand me down British thing that we Indians (particularly in the south) have inherited. Well, I’m sure it’s easy for you to guess why I think that way. South India is known for its mind blowing filter coffee served in steel cups/silver mugs. Tea for me never used to be a close match. But then, slowly my taste buds started getting accustomed to the flavours of tea. Now, it’s more like – I care a damn if it has anything to do with the British. I just love some forms of tea – Green Tea, Earl Grey, Chamomile and our very own Masala Chai.

 

Bangalore being a coffee friendly place has a coffee lounge around every street corner. When it got one of its first tea joints I was more than thrilled. Infinitea, on Cunningham Road has been around for a while now. Every visit to that place makes me experiment a new kind of tea and every time I realize I have to try out so many more. Flavours are endless.

 

 

There is something about Infinitea that makes me want to go there. May be their mezzanine kinda ambience with those amazing posters on tea and the literature that they publish and profess on how sensitivitea, serendipitea, sensualitea are all linked to tea. I can read them over and over again. I always try a new tea for obvious reasons that I can tick off one from my pending list of ‘To be tried’.

 

 

 

Once you order your tea, they get you the glass pot with water that’s set to the right temperature, tea leaves, timer and a strainer. Yes, cups as well. The steward would add in the leaves and allow it to brew right in front of you as he turns the sand timer over. I always wait for it to run out of sand, grab the pot and pour myself some good tea. Well, not always are my experiments with the flavours good. One such experiment was the Chocolate Ginger tea. I had been waiting for long to have that. Imagine something as divine as chocolate coupled with something equally divine. Well, it’s not truly a tale of divinity. Quite a letdown. Safer bets would be Peppermint, Refreshment, Kashmiri Kahwa.

There is one drink at Infinitea called Chilli something. The description clearly says it’s for the wild and experimentative beings.  Well, it’s nice. But then, you will not be able to have more than half of what is served. It’s cold, chilly and leaves behind a certain taste in your mouth.  I also tried a tea called Setting Saffron which was a big ‘setdown’ aka letdown.

 

However, I do like some of the food they serve there. Though continental does not exactly go well with tea (as clearly pointed out by my friend), some of it is quite nice. The short eats are good. I like their bread and bruschetta. Some of their pastas, ravioli and chicken are also nice. It may feel like you have had an overdose of cheese. Well, to cleanse the feeling of grease you might just order another pot of hot tea. That’s the only use of coupling tea and continental that I can see.

 

Their desserts are average, mostly mediocre. However, brownie is good so is the ganache tart. Whenever I read Ganache on the menu I inevitably compare it to Sunny’s. This one is no good in comparison. It’s not bad though.

 

My recommendation – Go there just for your tea and may be something light to accompany. You will then be in awe of that place.