Guwahati: Queen Elizabeth II who had ascended to the throne in 1952, about five years after India’s independence, had a special love for Assam and Darjeeling Tea.
Everyone in Buckingham Palace knew about Queen Elizabeth’s love for a grand afternoon tea, a tradition which lasted for 70 long years.
Apparently, the late monarch had very particular preferences when it came to picking her tea leaves, specially procured from some of the finest tea gardens in Assam and Darjeeling hills.
In 2018, Queen Elizabeth’s personal butler Grant Harrold had revealed as to how the late monarch always used to take out time to sit down for her afternoon tea wherever she was.
Harrold had revealed that she enjoyed Assam and Darjeeling tea as well as her daily brew of traditional Earl Grey.
However, the royal butler never revealed the names of the tea gardens in Assam and Darjeeling from where Buckingham Palace used to procure the tea leaves for Queen Elizabeth II.
The late queen’s tea-sipping habit was quite similar to the Indian tea connoisseurs – boiling hot tea. Apparently, she never liked a lukewarm teapot. She always used to sip her favorite tea from bone china teacups.
Harrold had also revealed that the late monarch had a very specific set of steps that she preferred while having Assam Tea:
1. Pour the tea into the cup from a teapot,
2. Add milk to the cup after the tea and never before
3. Stir back and forth (never use a circular motion and never touch the sides).