Tea Manufacturers India

Tea and Wine: Educating the palate
Why do connoisseurs pay more for a Chateau Neuf du Pape or a Merlot and insist on a particular year over the others? And how much did you pay for it? When was the last time you bought wine which said ‘French Table Wine, and poured out of a box?
On the other hand why do the same people feel content buying tea out of a box, which says Indian or Ceylon tea?
Tea, like wine, has qualities that depend on its geographical location. So just as a red wine from Chile will taste differently from a red wine from France, orthodox teas from India will be very different from orthodox teas from Ceylon or Kenya. Wines in France, too, will have regional differences with a Cotes du Rhone having a taste and bouquet unlike that of a Burgundy or Loire grape.
Then, of course there is the difference between vineyards within the region as it is with tea estates, which depend not only on the geographical location, but also on how the property is run and its quality controls. Similarly, among the teas in India, Terai teas will taste differently from Darjeeling, Assam or Nilgiris.
But once you master it, becoming a connoisseur of tea can be as much fun, as fascinating, if not healthier than being a wine connoisseur. All of this may be bewildering at first. And then there are the different qualities of wine of each vineyard as there are different grades of tea of each estate.
Normally, the so-called ‘estate-fresh' specialty teas that you buy in the supermarket gets there after passing through the hands of a number of middle-men, often sitting in warehouses of dusty ports for months before it reaches your cup. Unlike wines, though, tea does not do well with age.
Try a cup of tea, which has reached you directly within days of being plucked.
Most tea estates limit their expertise to the manufacture of one type of specialty tea. Nuxalbari Tea Estate India is probably one of the very few gardens that is proud to make all three different types of specialty Indian teas with equal finesse.
Upon espying a choice piece of virgin land, the young man would scoop a handful of earth, bury his nose in it, inhale deeply and pronounce, "good, plant," or "rubbish, move on." Family legend has it that he built his fortune led entirely by his nose. In 1899, my great-grandfather, the Nawab of Jalpaiguri, traveled on elephant back across the swampy jungles of northeast India, clearing great swathes of land and planting delicate tea saplings imported from China.
It was first established in 1884 by a British tea planter, and bought by the Nawab in 1910, who then doubled its production by planting areas thought to be unfit by the earlier owner. Nuxalbari, though, was one of the few tea plantations that he did not plant himself entirely. By the end of his life he owned 22 tea plantations from upper Assam to the Dooars.
His genes survive. The Nawab of Jalpaiguri, Musharraf Hussain was one of the first Indians to make tea planting his passion.

Into the Serenity of Arya Tea Estate

It has always been an exciting moment for me when a particular tea garden visit is on the calendar. From the hustle and bustle of a busy township and far far away from the madding crowd, I have always found the tea gardens spread its wings, engulfing me with a delight of happiness, energy, clean air and above all absolute silence which is pierced only by the chirping birds. It's a tremendous feeling. Today, I am posting about my visit to one of such tea gardens -
Arya Tea Estate
.
Upon enquiry, I was told that it was Last year as I was having a private meeting with a business partner (at his house), both of us were served tea manufactured at Arya Tea Estate.
"Arya Ruby"
I liked the tea very much and instantly made up my mind to procure this tea when the time was right. - A special tea made from AB-2 clone bushes (AB-2 is a particular type of clonal bush; there are other varieties of clonal bushes as well; AB-2 is one of the best) and purely bio-organic.
Our driver gave up the idea of driving downhill and we didn't want to take the risk. It was a downhill drive and so steep that a four-wheel drive could also fail while returning back if the driver was not experienced to traverse such steepness. Ruby is no doubt a very good tea, but the road to Arya is really bad.

My friend Chandan and I jumped on to the seats and drove towards Arya. Now it was time I put on my boots and walk towards fulfillment of my resolution to procure ‘Arya Ruby'.
Guess what will happen to this road during the monsoons when most of the roads become slippery. We lowered our pace fearing that we would tumble down. Both of us started hiking down the hill and as we were walking, we could feel the tremendous gravitational force acting upon us. Guess what happened next?
Yes, only the women folk are allowed for tea plucking during the peak first flush season because it is believed that "tender hands do tender plucking". The only thing we could hear is the birds sing and yes of course tea pluckers gossiping while they were busy engaged in picking the tea leaves with their tender hands. It was a tremendous feeling to walk in-between the tea bushes; touch them, smell them and even rest on them . We could see Darjeeling town hanging in the sky, and seemed as if it was resting on beautiful patches of white clouds.

After a while, the hustle and bustle of a busy township was left behind and a complete silence blanketed the entire environment.
We too had to shout. Some shouting from below and above the hill occurred in order to communicate - he was quite at a distance and normal conversation volume could be unheard. It was a fellow tea garden worker who had noticed us taking a rest after a perspiring walk. Do you like the garden?", a shout came from above the hill.

"Sir, where are you from? We could also see that some parts of the garden were getting new tea bushes and laborers could be seen working.
a breathtaking view which only an eye which perceived it can describe it better. Oh! On the left we could see Orange Valley Tea Estate and further on to the next hill, Risheehat could be seen resting in serenity. Surprisingly other tea estates were visible from Arya.
A marvellous white tea with almost transparent liquor perfumed with veggie notes, but very expensive. Apart from Ruby, we tasted other teas like Arya White Tea. He welcomed us and we were offered some tea - it was just the tea I wanted and my dream to procure Ruby was fulfilled.

Roy, Manager, Arya Tea Estate, was expecting us. S. After an hour, we reached the factory where Mr.
Guess we are lucky to get it during the peak First Flush tea season. He further added that Ruby is produced on a very limited basis and was hard to fulfill the demand. This means that Arya Ruby is not available in abundance and is only with selected people like us . He informed us that none of the Arya products go to the auctions and all of their products are sold in private.

After tasting and payment paper work was done, we went around the factory and sat for a while chatting with the manager.
They have their own experienced drivers, but all of them need to do the four-wheel drive. The manager promised to deliver the goods at our place the following day. As you know that we had gone hiking, it was not possible to get the teas on our back and hike back.
We left the factory and went to Gaudan uncle's house. Mr. Gaudan Gurung is a close family friend of Chandan who lives in the tea garden area. He is not a tea labourer, but a renowned personality in the Arya area who has been burdened with the welfare of the tea laborers. We were offered lunch prepared with vegetables grown in their own neighbourhood - 100% organic. Ah! it was a real delight.
We were lucky for we didn't have to hike back uphill, Gaudan uncle was going to town on his vehicle. We hopped on to it and started on the uphill task which made my heart shriek. Guess, Mr. Gaudan's son who was driving, was an experienced driver and reached us in "One Piece".
Author:
You can check his Darjeeling Tea company's site at He has a tea company based in Darjeeling, which deals with exotic Darjeeling Teas. His love for tea has ignited a fire in him to write out his thoughts on tea and share it with the world. Benoy Thapa is a Tea Lover from Darjeeling, India.
http://www.thunderbolttea.com
. His personal tea blog can also be seen at
http://www.darjeelingcuppa.com

An Excercise of Emotions with the Tea Guru

I had heard hundreds of stories about him and his tea estate particularly his love for animals, environment and above all his people. Rajah Banerjee of Makaibari Tea Estates, was possible. An honorable meeting with the most reputed Tea Guru I have ever known, Mr.

Why? Today's day will be the most memorable day in my life.
Upon hearing so many stories, I had taken a ‘particular snapshot' of him in my mind and was eagerly waiting to synchronize as soon as I set my foot on Makaibari's premises. Although, I had gone there to procure some organic teas for my selected clients, I found out that I was inclined more towards meeting him than procuring the teas. I guess, the love for tea which Mr. Banerjee shares with the world made my thoughts draw an arrow of urgency towards Mr. Banerjee's presence.
Bannerjee and I were having email sessions from beforehand, I was called inside instantly without any hesitation. As Mr. I guess those were necessary questions to be asked to anyone entering inside and I totally agree, afterall its one of the most reputed tea estates of the world. Whom do you want to meet?" the guard standing on the gate asked.

"Excuse me Sir, what work do you have here? I got down and entered the Makaibari gate - Guess what?
Yes, we were friends in no time I started my part and after a while we were laughing like little kids engrossed in our own world of friendship. Well, the silence was broken when the Tea Guru handed me his visiting card, shook hands with me and asked me with a smiling and welcoming face - "So young man, it's a pleasure to meet you, please tell me your story?" The down to earth behaviour from the other side evaporated my hesitant feeling from every pore of my body into thin air. Well, I was literally hesitant to speak up anything, thinking that I might speak something which may prove to be blatant and inappropriate. After a couple of moments, he was free to chat with me.

He signaled me to take a seat and requested me to wait for sometime as he was attending to his official work with one of his office staff. The first impression of my imprinted thoughts synchronized well regarding the outfit he was wearing - an essence of the British Raj reflected with his Khaki outfit, and I guess that is how it must have felt when anyone was meeting a ‘Bara Sahib' in the olden days.
By the time we finished our little chat for about an hour (yes, with heavenly amber sips in between), I could devise my brain instruments to record it and synchronize with my previous imagery. I found him to be a person, who is capable of walking hand-in-hand with his tea laborers, a person who respects life, believes in equality and above all a person who understands the importance of respecting other's feelings. A person you would dream to meet.
Now it was time for our little tea tasting session of the First Flush Silver Tips I was buying. Oh Boy! A heavenly brew which opened all of my sensory gates. The Tea Guru gave me a good number of tips on tea tasting and guess what; it was of great help and a new discovery when done following his guidelines. What he says about tea tasting - "Tea tasting is ABSTRACT, learn to associate with known flavors you know about and you will get your tea's divine description".
The tea tasting session was over and after spending more than two hours with him, I didn't want to waste anymore of Mr. Banerjee's time. Some Japanese group was waiting for his presence downstairs and it was now time for me to pay and head for home.
My Wife Made Me Look Stupid!
(quoted with her permission):
In the morning when I headed for Makaibari, I had told my wife to get the money in the bag and leave it on the bed. I got my digital camera, pushed it inside my bag and bid goodbye. I had about One Lac INR and now I was in Makaibari ready to pay the required amount to the man concerned. I had kept the bag inside Mr. Banerjee's office which had an open door leading to the tasting room and a long corridor which could be traversed by any of his staff members. I opened the bag and Boom! A thunder exploded right on my head - No money in the bag!! Guess about the situation!! I informed Mr. Banerjee about the situation and he too was utterly confused. All of the staff members were confused and don't ask about me - you can guess -
A Dead Man standing live!
I was dialing and at the very moment my wife called I was dialing and at the very moment my wife called - "Darling, I want to tell you one thing, but before I say, promise me you won't get angry"; I was literally irritated and she said, "I am sorry, but I put the money inside the bag otherwise she wouldn't have placed the bag on the bed as I had directed her to do. I was sure that my wife had put the money inside the bag otherwise she wouldn't have placed the bag on the bed as I had directed her to do. The news brought a sigh of relief to all of the staff members suggested me - "why don't you try and call home, you might have left it at home" - Not in a million.

I was sure that my wife had put the money in the wrong bag" - A mixed feeling of joy and anger ran through my vein. My brains could not work and from a corner, one of the staff members suggested me - "why don't you try and call home, you might have left it at home" - Not in a million.
After a while everything was normal and the memory was cherished instantly when the accountant of Makaibari and myself sat laughing and chatting sipping in the ethereal silver tips.
I headed home with a tremendous feeling of joy, happiness and yes of course with a yearning to scold my wife, but that didn't happen - the story itself proved so funny that I forgot everything and we were busy brewing the new silver tips. Banerjee goodbye - "Benoy keep dropping down to Makaibari" with a similing face that had initially welcomed me. The Makaibari Silver Tips got loaded on my vehicle and I bid Mr.
Guess Dalle is right! Banerjee's personal tea maker assistant) still is reverberating in my ears "Sir, whatever happens, it happens for good and maybe it was God's wish which prevented you from really losing your money through other means". To conclude, the words of Dalle (Mr.
:) Banerjee forget's me in the future, I can pull in the story anytime I meet him and bring back the hilarious past. Even if Mr. Maybe it is!

Or is it that God wanted the whole Makaibari family to remember the incident forever.
Author:
Benoy Thapa is a Tea Lover from Darjeeling, India. His love for tea has ignited a fire in him to write out his thoughts on tea and share it with the world. He has a tea company based in Darjeeling, which deals with
exotic Darjeeling Teas
You can check his .
Darjeeling Tea
company's site at
http://www.thunderbolttea.com
Copyright © Benoy Thapa, Darjeeling, India