Darjeeling Tea
The rare flavour of Darjeeling tea is a
result of the combination of plant genes, soil chemistry, elevations,
temperature and rainfall that are unique to the Darjeeling hills. A set of agricultural practises has been developed to sustain the growth of shoots while maintaining bush heights suitable for manual plucking. Darjeeling
tea leaves are processed in the traditional "orthodox" way. The
inherently sensitive nature of the finely plucked green leaf responds best
to gentle treatment. A Darjeeling tea bush yields only 100 gms of made tea
in a year. Each kilogram of fine tea consists of more than 20,000 individual
handpicked shoots. Darjeeling
tea leaves are small leathery a dark, glossy green in colour often
covered with a downy silvery pubescence.
The distinctive, exclusive and rare character of Darjeeling tea is the result of several factors. The tea gardens are situated at elevations from 610 to 2134 meters on steep slopes which provide ideal natural drainage for the generous rainfall the district receives. Coupled with this, the intermittent cloud and sunshine combine to impart the unique character of Darjeeling tea which has the distinctive and naturally occurring organoleptic characteristics of taste, aroma and mouthfeel which have won the patronage and recognition of discerning consumers all over the world.