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Mr. Gour invented his colorful layered teas 10 years ago, when he was selling tea from a bamboo shack. He says he realized that teas from different leaves have slightly different densities. It took a year of experimenting before he could sell teas with more than two layers. Over the years, he learned to expand to seven.
The kind of layer tea Mr. Gour makes is unique to the Srimongol area. An iced three-layer tea has become popular in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, but those drinks include one type of tea and are typically layered with palm sugar on the bottom, evaporated milk in the middle and tea on the top. What makes Srimongol's special are the discrete layers of tea blends.
Mr. Gour mixes different types of locally grown tea—three black teas and one green tea— from four types of bushes, with milk and various spices. Each mixture has a distinct color and taste, and he pours one on top of another to create seven distinct bands. Customers sip each layer slowly: Trying to figure out what's in each one is a fun act of gustatory detective work. The top layer of the seven-layer tea has hints of cinnamon; the layer below has a slight citrus flavor to it. Mr. Gour says the fourth layer from the top and bottom layer get the most reaction from his customers. The fourth layer is a black tea mixed with condensed milk, while the bottom layer is a sweet, syrupy green tea with cloves, cinnamon and 'secret spices.' (Customers can choose to have one to seven layers of tea in their drink.)
In a country that consumes more than 55 million kilograms of tea leaves a year, Mr. Gour's layered tea has turned him into something of a celebrity. He has shared a cup of his tea with many of Bangladesh's top politicians, including members of Parliament and the governor of Bangladesh Bank. Bangladeshi newspaper clippings about his tea cover one wall of his open-air shop. In January, he opened a second tea cabin, just down the street from his first one.
A seven-layer drink costs 70 taka, or about one U.S. dollar. It may not sound like much, but most cups of tea in the area cost about seven U.S. cents.
Just how, exactly, Mr. Gour layers the tea is a closely guarded secret. Mr. Gour heads to a back room so he can make his concoction away from prying eyes. He has trusted the recipe to his three sons and brother who work at the shops—only the five them are allowed into the tea-preparation room.
Though imitators have popped up around town, offering their own layered teas, Mr. Gour is leading the competition with most layers. He says after years of practice, he will release a 10-layer tea later this year.
So, is the tea worth the trip?
With its varied flavors, tea connoisseurs are bound to find at least a layer or two they like. The fourth layer from the top stood out with its strong spices, likely some mixture of ginger and cinnamon in a black tea, while the popular bottom layer was a bit on the sweet side (though would have tasted great as a syrup on ice cream). Mr. Gour claims the flavors 'will live with you a lifetime,' but there's no one tea flavor that makes that memorable of a mark. It's more about the experience and drink — as a whole: the mystery of the ingredients, the rows of tea bushes just outside the shops and the chance to drink from the hands of a Bangladeshi tea master.
Nilkantha Tea Cabins are on Kalighat Road just a few kilometers outside of the town of Srimongol in Sylhet division, Bangladesh.
参考译文：
早在10年前，当他还在竹棚里卖茶的时候，古尔就发明了色彩层次差异鲜明的多层茶。他说，他早就意识到，不同茶叶泡出的茶水比重略有不同。经过一年的试验之后，他开始向顾客出售分层数量超过两层的茶水。几年之后，他逐渐将层数扩展到了七层。
古尔的这种多层茶在斯里蒙戈尔这个地方属于独一份。虽然马来西亚的沙捞越有一种很受欢迎的三层冰茶，但是那种饮料里面只有一种茶，杯中的三层通常分别是杯底的椰糖层、中间的炼乳层和最上面的茶水层。斯里蒙戈尔分层茶的独特之处在于其神奇的层次是不同品种的茶叶泡出来的。
古尔将当地四种不同品种的茶叶——三种红茶和一种绿茶——泡好之后倒在一起，再加上牛奶和各种调味品。每一种液体的颜色和味道都不一样。将一种液体倾倒在另一种上面，就能创造出颜色层次截然不同的七层茶水。茶客一层层地慢慢啜饮：他们竭力想弄清楚每一层到底都有些什么，舌头就像是在寻找罪犯蛛丝马迹的警员，很有趣味。七层茶最上面的一层有淡淡的肉桂味；第二层有些许轻微的柑橘味。古尔说，茶客们对第四层和底层的反应最明显。第四层是加入了炼乳的红茶；底层是一种略带甜味、醇浓似糖浆的绿茶，里面加入了丁香、肉桂和“秘密调味品”。（茶客可以选择七层中的任意一种或全部七种。）
在这个每年都要消耗掉5500万公斤茶叶的国家里，古尔的分层茶让他小有名气。他曾经先后和孟加拉的很多顶级政治人物共饮一杯茶。这些人中有国会成员、央行行长。他将孟加拉报纸上报导他的文章剪下来贴在墙上，目前这些文章已经贴满了他那间露天茶铺的一面墙。今年一月份，他在与第一家小茶馆同一条街的不远处开了第二家小茶馆。
一杯七层茶的价格是70塔卡，折合约1美元。这看似不算贵，但你知道吗，当地大多数茶一杯才卖7美分。
分层茶具体是怎么调配出来的？古尔对此讳莫如深。每次，他都要进里屋去调配茶水，以避开人们窥探的眼睛。他只将配方告诉了在茶馆干活的三个儿子和他的一个兄弟——只有他们五个人可以进出调配茶水的那间屋子。
虽然小镇里经常冒出模仿者，推出他们自己调配的分层茶，但是在茶的层数上，他们都比不上古尔。他说，他已经练习了好几年，准备今年晚些时候推出十层茶。
为了喝杯茶，值得跑那么远吗？
因为一杯茶里有好几种口味，所以品茗客至少能找到一层或两层对自己口味的茶水。从上往下数的第四层味道浓烈，就像是红茶中加入了生姜和肉桂，而很受人欢迎的底层则略带甜味（虽然有人说和冰激凌上的糖浆一样甜）。古尔说，这些味道“可能伴随你一生，”但是光是其中的一种味道无法给人们留下如此深刻的记忆。让人们难忘的是整个品茶的体验的过程：神秘的配料、茶馆门外成行的茶树、孟加拉泡茶大师亲手配置的香茗。
古尔的两家Nilkantha茶馆（Nilkantha Tea Cabins）位于Kalighat路，在孟加拉锡尔赫特区（Sylhet）斯里蒙戈尔镇外几公里处。
