The tea comes with a warning, Ye chai thodi Kadak hai.

How strong can it really be? Well, very, The preparation style is as much about getting that super strong flavour as it is about the spectacle of it, But he sells only tea – you have to get your own pao/ biscuits/ breads if you want.

The corporate types in the group get into the advising mode – how selling snacks with his tea will help him grow his business. He laughs, and says that doing that will drown his business. We are all perplexed. He explains ‘This is a political area, many of my clients are the local politicians, administrators, and cops who don’t pay for the tea. I can afford to loss of free tea, but if I had to hand out free snacks too, my business will go under’.

We sip our tea, and walk away refreshed, and wiser.