A GIFT OF TEA

Welcome. The ornate, hand-woven Assamese Gamcha is a cotton cloth presented to honoured guests and loved ones. It is also used to wrap deities during worship. Most houses in Assam have their own handlooms where gamchas are woven, often as dowry items or simply to show off the skills of the weaver. Decorative elements include conch shells, peacocks and assorted floral and geometric motifs. Sizes vary, but 60cm X 120cm seems an average size. Here where deities go unwrapped and dowries are rare, gamchas can be used as table-cloths, table runners or food covers for outdoor dining.

And to complete the picture…

Two packs of Assamese DUAMARA Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe.

With its generous sprinkling of golden buds and neatly twisted leaf, this stylish tea is bright, brisk, lively and distinctly Assamese in the cup when brewed for three minutes and drunk black. Brewed for five minutes, this tea will need milk and will have a round, mellow, rich and full-flavoured taste.

Its invoice number is O 260. An invoice is a parcel of tea, often pinpointing a section of the garden and the time of its plucking. To connoisseurs, invoice numbers are as meaningful as wine vintages