CelesTe, a luxury brand specialising in exquisite handcrafted artisanal teas, collaborated with artist Akshita Gandhi to create unique blends that highlight colours such as blue and pink. Colours are extremely powerful and have long been associated with gender stereotypes. Blue, for example, represents boys and masculinity, whereas pink represents femininity and all things dainty.

Gandhi created special artworks named after the Greek Gods Zeus and Venus for this one-of-a-kind collaboration. Anubha, a Sommelier and Tea Blender, has created pink and blue tea blends. Pink Zeus tea contains fruity ingredients such as hibiscus, strawberry, cinnamon, marigold, and ginger. The Venus tea in blue is made by reversing the colour identities of exotic blue pea, mint, and lemon.

Gandhi created the artworks for the packaging of CelesTe's Limited Edition teas to shed light on the gender stereotypes we still believe in today and how we need to break free from them. Gandhi's work, with blue and purple hues and flowey curved lines, represents feminine energy in a "masculine" colour, whereas the solid geometric patterns in shades of pink represent masculine energy in a "feminine" colour. These colours and patterns represent yin and yang. Akshita's artwork attempts to break free from biases by redefining gender identity through colours rather than the stereotypical approach associated with colours.

Gandhi shares, "For centuries artists have spoken extensively about colours and what they symbolise and mean. Kandinsky, for example, believes that each colour has a different impact on the moods of people. Pink was used to represent girls because the colour is considered to be delicate whereas blue is known to be associated with boldness and men. My artwork is here to break these preconceived notions and explore colour in more depth especially as we are constantly trying to overcome conformity in a patriarchal society."

"This collaboration is very special for us," Anubha Jhawar adds. We hope to represent Akshita's art by curating these limited edition tisanes. The flavour and the liquor truly represent the energy and mood in a feminine and masculine backdrop that has been created over centuries. While Zeus combines a floral yet fruity flavour with the sweetness of cinnamon. Venus adds minty freshness to the floral blue with zing." (GA/IANS)

Keywords: (Tea, Collection, CelesTe, Flavour, Colour)