Tea fit for royalty

Went to an exhibit today about the Maharaja and their treasures. Paintings, jewels, flags, historical footage of King Charles V's visit to India.

Went there partially because I'm interested in India, but I hoped I'd see something/anything about tea. No such luck.

There was a lot of information. A lot. And I learned many things I'd never even considered. Ever. But nothing about tea.

What tea would a Maharaja most like to drink? No idea. A Ceylon Nuwara 'Lover's Leap'? Maybe. Might be too mild for his taste though.

Maybe I'd go whole hog and shower him with what I consider to be tea for a ruler. A nice Darjeeling second flush. Or something from Assam? Would I be so bold and let him try a Chinese or Japanese tea? Maybe the second or third cup. But not at the outset. Who knows if he'd even drink my tea. I get the impression that tea was a Western obsession.

Read somewhere that although India as a whole consumes a lot of tea, per capita they drink a modest amount. Ok. I'd still serve the hypothetical Maharaja a cup of Indian tea initially.

You should've seen the ceremonial finery they had. I'm sure it must've been horrible to be anyone but the Maharaja in that time. But the top dog could certainly have any tea he wanted. Must be nice, eh? We live in funny times. You and I can order almost any tea in the world. Almost.

There's certainly some tea I've never heard of, which is prohibitively expensive. I don't want to think about it. Today, I'm drinking tea fit for royalty.