Find your happiness in the little things. I found mine in travelling across the country, to collect their native flowers, herbs and fruits to make exotic tea blends.
So, the story of these wild roses called ‘Sia‘ goes like this, It was the beginning of the spring and I decided to be in magical Leh Ladakh to make the most of my favorite season.
I woke up early in the morning and decided to visit Alchi village and walk around, but the weather was not so clear, a mix of Sunny and clouds just like my mood sometimes.
I thought maybe it’s a better idea to stay at home and do nothing. Trust me doing nothing is my best therapy, it always worked in my case.
While sipping my Darjeeling Green tea at my homestay’s cozy kitchen, I found a beautiful rose bud but it wasn’t like the conventional rosés we find in our gardens. My curiosity made me have a delightful discussion with my homestay family about these beautiful buttercup shaped roses and in the next 1 hour I was at this breathtaking sight which was full of Sia Roses.
( thank you to my kind host ).
I see the little lake formed by a glacial stream flowing past the Wild Roses bushes.
Roses were all over the river. Each Rose had precisely five petals. As I always say that Nature has its own way to heal and deal with yourself, and my mind was calm just like the flowing stream.
This is not what Ladakh is supposed to look like. It’s a parched barren high-altitude desert, with a two tone landscape: brown and grey. Forget Ladakh, nothing at 5,000 metres is supposed to look like this. But you can’t argue with nature.
That’s how I found my new Artisan Blend in progress, it will be my tribute to delightful Ladakhi Culture.
Siachen ( ‘Sia’ is rose, ‘chen’ is place )’ the place where roses bloom)
A wild Rose locally called Sia/
In Turtuk village, Balti people grow this rose family in their houses as decoration and it’s bark is used in pyo cha ( butter tea ) instead of green tea leaves in some houses.
Siachen refers to a land with an abundance of roses.
After reading about Sia roses, you cannot control your urge to taste Siachen roses tea.