|  Darjeeling
Tea
For most people around the world the Darjeeling
word is associated with a beverage rather than anything else.
Today the Darjeeling tea is exported across the world and is
a delight for the connoisseurs of tea who call it 'the champagne
of tea'.
The specialty of Darjeeling tea is in its
aroma. When brewed it produces a distinctive, naturally occurring
aroma and taste with light tea liquor. Currently there are about
86 tea gardens producing the Darjeeling Tea in the hilly areas
of Darjeeling district at an altitude
between 750 to 2000 meter. Total annual production of Darjeeling
tea is close to 10 million kg a year. The low yield is due to
adherence towards high quality.
 The
flavour of Darjeeling tea varies from season to season and garden
to garden. The Easter Flush is produced from the leafs plucked
during March - April. The leaves are tender and very light green
in appearance. The Spring Flush plucked in May - June is famed
for its prominent quality. Summer Flush ( July - September)
produces tea with stronger quality, yet retains the unique character
of Darjeeling tea. The Autumn Flush ( October - November) tea
have a delicate character. The winter months are dormant period
with no production.
The history of the Darjeeling Tea, which now
is a global brand, dates back 150 years when Dr. Campbell, a
civil surgeon who as an experiment planted the tea seeds in
his garden at Beechwood at Darjeeling. The results of the experiment
stunned him and many others. Soon after he decided  to
start plantation in larger scale with the assistance from the
British Government. The pioneers in tea plantation set up gardens
like Tukvar, Steinthal and Aloobari. Today the Darjeeling hills
are covered with innumerable tea gardens
producing some of the best tea in the world.
Darjeeling was a hill resort for the British
army as well as the rich native Bengalis. There was a dearth
of workers to work in the labour intensive tea gardens. Soon
people started migrating from adjoining hill areas including
Nepal for work at the gardens.
more about Darjeeling
tea gardens |
