Tea and a daily ritual of tea time in late afternoons is huge in Kolkata. Tea drinkers can be fanatical about where they buy their cha leaves from – what kind they buy an which brand is also important. Most times, people in the know will blend their tea instead of buying pre-packaged stuff {which they look down their noses at}. And they buy the blends from tea merchants who have stores all over the city.
Almost every neighbourhood bazaar in Kolkata has a tea store where the person at the counter will help you perfect your blend whether it is leaves you want or CTC or mixed. There are a few big stores that are known around the city that you can also visit – these have a really wide variety of teas from the east. For instance, Mahabodhi Tea House on Sadananda Road, near Hazra crossing; Lakshmi Narayan Tea House at 58, Ekdalia Road in Ballygunge; Surya Tea Company and Dhruba Tea Centre {opposite Lalbazar police station, they have stores all over Kolkata}.
