In praise of Indian Tea* Sitendra Kumar: In Tamil Nadu, coffee reigns supreme although tea has made some inroad. There was a time when coffee enjoyed unchallenged monopoly among the upper and middle echelons of society in Tamil Nadu. If tea was offered injudiciously, it would be construed as a veiled insult, abuse, snub, rebuff or affront. The quality of coffee served by a host (read hostess) will place the server in an upper rung on the social ladder. During the boy-meets-girl ritual of yore, the matter may not be taken forward even if the bride-to-be looked like an amalgam of the celestial lovelies Ramba, Urvasi, Menaka and Tilottama, due to the faux pas committed by the bride’s family in serving tea — never mind if it was brewed from top-drawer Darjeeling leaves that even Queen Elizabeth would have condescended to sip with royal grace. The status of tea has undergone sea change in Tamil Nadu nowadays.Tea has now come up big, acquiring equal status. Hostesses ask the g