Time out with tea at a chill zone

Sip on this: a teen gang struts into a happening nightclub ? and orders tea!

The old man?s drink is desperate to make a comeback, and how. By taking on the Breezers and Martinis head on and telling GenX to give tea a chance.

The morning cuppa or the boardroom beverage has taken its first steps into the party zone, with the Tea Board stirring up an aggressive Rediscover Tea campaign.

?After a huge slump, tea is making a comeback. The board is trying to drive home two points,? says a spokesperson. ?One, it is a health drink, based on recent scientific studies. Two, it is a drink with an attitude, and that is why we are going to hotspots in town frequented by youngsters.?

So, tea has come to Tantra, Winning Streak, Cloud 9 and Fusion, besides reaching out to young shoppers at Metro Plaza and City Centre. And not in the form we know it. The flavoured ones are the favoured ones, from lemon, peach-and-ice to mocktails with fruit juices, syrups and garnishing.

And the night haunts hardly mind adding tea to their table. ?Many youngsters who frequent Shisha do not prefer hard drinks. They choose some form of tea, instead. The Citrus Tea Cooler, Mint Tea Zulep and Cider Tea are big hits,? says Sovan Mukherjee, manager of the city?s first hookah bar.

Also brewing are catch-?em-young plans to invade school and college canteens. ?Youngsters need to be told about tea and its positive effects,? stresses the Tea Board spokesperson. And what better peer platform than canteens by day and hangouts by night?