Around Mumbai’s Masjid Station, the wholesale district radiates a heat so thick you start sweating just by walking through it. True to its reputation as India’s commercial capital, the narrow lanes are crammed with goods: bolts of fabric, spices, dried foods, and things that seem halfway between junk and treasure. Pushcarts jostle with pedestrians, paying no mind to anyone’s path. In the middle of this chaos, I came across a tea wholesaler.
Silver bowls, each piled high with tea leaves, lined the storefront. Handwritten tags read “Darjeeling Green Tea – 800 rupees” or “Green Tea – 1200 rupees.” If these same teas were displayed in the basement of a Tokyo department store, they would no doubt be posing as luxury items. Here, though, the sight of tea leaves heaped casually in a wholesale market gives the whole scene a strangely relaxed air.
A bit of trivia: India actually consumes more tea than Britain does. And the standard recipe here is milky, sweet, and heavily sugared. Drinking it straight to savor the aroma is, apparently, a foreigner’s eccentricity. On the shelves I noticed brands with names like “Star Dust” and “Akash Dust.” At that point, I couldn’t help wondering if this was more about creative naming contests than about taste.
Still, when I picked up a handful and brought it to my nose, a genuinely rich aroma wafted up. The shop owner showed no particular eagerness to make a sale—he simply fanned himself and watched as customers sniffed and wandered off. Perhaps that’s the essence of Mumbai itself: a curious blend of nonchalance and shrewdness, mixed together into the temperament of the city.
Aug 2025 FOOD INDIA | |
MUMBAI PRICE TAG SHOP TEA LEAF |
No
12895
Shooting Date
May 2024
Posted On
August 27, 2025
Place
Mumbai, India
Genre
Food Photography
Camera
SONY ALPHA 7R V
Lens
ZEISS BATIS 2/40 CF