TEA AMO

What happens when an Indian cocktail bar joins forces with a tea estate? Isha Mayer finds out on a spring tea trail to Darjeeling

- Isha Mayer

In a time when coffee is in the limelight, tea seems to be lost in the shadows. Not for me, though. As an avid tea lover who is committed to her two cups a day, I was happy to pack my bags and head to Darjeeling’s 1600-acre tea estate for a spring tea trail at AMPM’s invitation. AMPM is a cocktail bar in Kolkata founded by Rajan and Deepika Sethi. Deepika, Grace Muivah (AMPM’s brand lead) and OMO’s (a Gurugram-based vegetarian cafe also owned by the Sethis) Executive Chef Vanshika Bhatia, took us to the foothills of Darjeeling to explore the possibilities of tea beyond a cup, plus the local ingredients of the Eastern Himalayas.

Following a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Bagdogra airport, which included stops to savour our first cup of first-flush Darjeeling tea with a view of the mountains, we finally reached our destination: Glenburn Tea Estate, nestled within a tea plantation established in 1859. On our way, we also watched the narrow gauge railway tracks of the UNESCO World Heritage Darjeeling Hill Railway. Husna-Tara Prakash, the owner, welcomed us with her infectious smile and Glenburn Iced Tea.