Srinagar: Imagine ‘Noon Chai’ (salt or pink tea) blended with saffron!
Tea Board of India (TBI) has scored a self-goal for wrong description of famed Noon Chai.
Working under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, TBI has embarked on a journey to promote ethnic teas on its social media handles.
“Noon Chai, a Kashmiri specialty, which stands out for its the distinctive pink colour is made from green tea, milk, baking soda, salt, cardamom, saffron almonds, pistachios, and other spices as per your liking #India Tea #IndianTeaLove #IndiaTeaAndMe,” the tea board posted a description of Noon Chai on its social media handles including Twitter and Facebook.
The description came under fire with tea lovers taking to social media for what they called “saffronizing” the Kashmiri tea forcing the board to delete the tweet.
Nasir Lone, a Twitter user shared the Tea Board of India’s post with a one-liner “saffronizing Noon Chai”.
“Saffron and cardamom in Noon Chai is something I have never heard of in 26 years of my life. Besides, it would taste beyond horrible,” Zaid Zaz, a twitter used posted in response to the Tea Board of India.
A lot of netizens posted a cryptic response to the tea board. “The above ingredients can be used to make mutton/chicken curry not Noon Chai,” Mirkoore responded to the tea board.
Many twitter users described the tea board’s description of Noon Chai as an attempt to “distort” Kashmiri culture.
“For more than two-and-half-decade I have been so romantically and emotionally tied to Noon Chai. However, the fusion quoted below is nothing sort of a vile attempt of snatching the last remnants of our culture away from us. Noon Chai has salt, tea leaves, baking soda, and milk,” posted Jardani Jovonovich, a twitter user
Famed Kashmiri author Mirza Waheed responded to the tea board: “Kind of know a little bit about Kashmiri tea and I can confirm we don’t put cardamom in it. And saffron works well with Kahwa, not with Nun Chai.”
Under pressure, Umar Nazir Tibet Baqal, a member of the Tea Board of India later rectified the promotional post. “Being a member of the Tea Board of India and blender of Kashmiri Tea Noon Chai, I would like to rectify. With regards to the ingredients of Noon Chai, cardamom, saffron, almonds, pistachios don’t hold good,” he posted on twitter.
Previously, the tea board also promoted Kehwa (saffron tea), which was positively responded by the tea lovers across the country
