This three-decade-old tea stall is famous in Birgunj. The stove of the stall burns for 15 hours from 5:30 in the morning to 8:30 in the evening, and the arrival of tea connoisseurs continues.
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For the past few years, visitors to Birgunj have been asking where the Bablu Tea Stall is. Anyone who has heard about this tea stall, which is very popular even on social media, wants to take a sip of tea in a clay cup, or 'matka', when they come to Birgunj. And after drinking the tea, they say, 'Shall I have one more matka!'
Compared to other teas, Bablu tea definitely has some special features and it attracts tea connoisseurs surprisingly, says Sushil Aryal of Tejarathol, Birgunj. Another tea connoisseur from Birgunj, Manoj Upadhyay, also said that for the past few years, some of his guests who come to Birgunj have been telling him over the phone, "After coming to Birgunj, you should go to Adarshnagar and visit Bablu Tea Stall." This three-decade-old tea stall has become even more famous in the past decade. The stove of this tea stall burns continuously for 15 hours from 5:30 in the morning to 8:30 in the evening. The flow of tea connoisseurs does not stop.
What is so special about Bablu tea that makes tea connoisseurs drink tea again and again? Yogesh Sharma, 40, the eldest son of the stall's owner, Ramniwas Sharma, says only one word - 'honesty.' Sharma says that they change the tea leaves every time they make tea and add only milk without adding a drop of water. He also said that he does not add any spices to the tea except for dried coriander and pepper. “Customers come to us to drink tea with trust, we cannot deceive such customers,” he said, “Yes, we have to know how long to cook the tea and how much heat to use, and we have to adjust the timing.”
In the past two years, the tea stall has also started serving sweets and salty dishes that are eaten as snacks. Sharma said that breakfast dishes ranging from samosas, nimki to laddus, peda, rasbari etc. have been added according to customer demand. He said that business has flourished further since breakfast is also available along with tea.
The tea stall, which was set up in the attic of a house on the side of the road, is still operating in the attic. Customers can also be found sitting or standing on wooden benches under the open sky on the roadside, sipping tea. But this stall is doing lucrative business. Sharma said that 550 to 600 cups of tea are sold daily. Apart from this, the breakfast business has also started doing well. With the price of matka tea, which started at Rs 2 per cup, now reaching Rs 35 per cup, Sharma's business has also taken a leap.
Sharma says that 55 to 60 liters of milk are consumed daily just for tea. Since tea is sold only in clay pots at the stall, the business of local potters who make such pots has also flourished. He says that not using plastic cups will reduce environmental pollution.
After the establishment of the Bablu tea stall, many tea
shops have opened in Birgunj following suit. But the business of the Bablu tea stall has increased more and more. Ramniwas Sharma, who entered Nepal from Jhungnu, Rajasthan, India for employment, has started selling tea with Rajasthani flavor in Birgunj. He is now 82 years old. His youngest son Bablu was two years old at that time. Now, Bablu and his brother Yogesh are running the stall together.
Tea connoisseurs have found a new taste when the Marwari Brahmin Sharma family serves Marwari-flavored tea and snacks in Birgunj. That taste is also attracting customers. The banner of the stall with the thick white moustache in the Rajasthani style of the tea stall owner Ram Niwas Sharma has become a kind of brand.
Ram Niwas is currently resting at his ancestral home in India due to ill health. The Bablu tea stall is visited by both the general public and the elderly. This year, Yogesh said that Nepali Communist Party coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal came and had tea at the stall.
