What You Didn’t Know About Indian Teas

My time with tea gets me opportunities to meet tea people from other parts of the world face-to-face as well as virtually; and almost every time I feel sad to see that almost all these people have no proper knowledge about Indian teas. According to them India is synonymous with just black teas coming from either Darjeeling or Assam (just these two locations).

The Indian teas are different characteristically (Sinensis, Assamica and the famous clonal of Darjeeling) than say the Chinese tea. Therefore, I have realized that tea tasting with Indian tea has to be very different as compared to Chinese tea to understand the unique texture, aroma, and flavours of Indian teas. Unfortunately, most International tea people use the Chinese template ( the standard template) to taste and appreciate Indian tea.

I remember I had given some fine smoked oolong tea from Kangra to a group of American tea people who were visiting India. First, they couldn’t believe that India is actually producing such beautiful teas. Then they started the complete Chinese tea testing process to taste the oolong. At some point, I had to stop them and say, “Let’s try the Indian tea in the Indian way.”  They were again surprised when I mentioned that Indian teas require the Indian way to taste and appreciate.   

Smoked Oolong from Kangra

Darjeeling Silver Needle

Golden Tips from Assam

Recently on a Facebook post when someone asked what’s your favourite Oolong and I said Indian, I got a whole lot of people asking me questions about it. And they came from all parts of the world – Canada, Italy, Sweden, Mongolia, etc.

However, the saddest part is that not even 10% of Indians have any clue about the kind of teas we produce in India! Forget about being proud of our teas, for most Indias tea is a drink they have in the morning to go to the loo!

During my tea appreciation workshops when I show and tell the participants that the Darjeeling tea is lovingly called the ‘Champagne of Tea’ and some of our best teas are sold for thousands of dollars in the auction they simply can’t believe it.  It is very hard for them to accept that the normal chai that they buy without even thinking can be even more expensive than a bottle of Champagne or a fine bottle of single malt.

I always give the example of the French and their wines – “don’t you see how very proud they are of their wines? These specialty teas of India are as good if not better than some of the best wines of the world, please show some love.”

But Tea compared to Wine? Well, they are more similar than you thought.

Check it here: https://teawithsusmita.com/2017/11/03/tea-wine-they-are-more-similar-than-you-thought/

Darjeeling White Tea

Darjeeling Oolong

Let’s Cheer it then for the fine Teas of India!

To learn about Indian teas, please join us for the first Indian Tea Appreciation Program being delivered in collaboration with Tea Board India. It’s a 5 day residential program starting from 18th March 2020 at Tea Board India’s R&D center – Darjeeling Tea Research and Development Center, at Kurseong, Darjeeling. Please write to me at itsourcuppatea@gmail.com for details.

Tea Tasting from my tea workshop

Picture Source: Kangra Oolong: Anandi Himalaya, Assam Golden Tips : Dikom tea garden; Nilgiris Winter Frost : Parkside Tea Estate, Nilgiri

Temi – Tea, Cherry Tree Festival and Tea Travel: Concluding Part

Read Part 1 of the story here: https://teawithsusmita.com/2020/01/10/temi-tea-cherry-tree-festival-and-tea-travel-part-1/

Before we got down to the venue ground which was a large clearing in the middle of the tea garden, we got out of the car and sat at the entry point which was at a higher level from the venue ground – to soak into the pristine nature all around us. There were many locals who came and talked to us. I found every one of them to be very proud of this Cherry Tree Festival and are actively involved. You need an extraordinary community and a great leader to make such a thing happen.

After sipping some Temi tea from a local tea vendor set up only for the festival, playing with the lazy dogs which were soaking sunlight and clicking some pictures of the colourful flowers around, three of us walked down to the venue among the tea plantation. I could smell rose, cinnamon and other spices around me. I was informed that such spices are planted near the tea plants on purpose – they add to the complexity of the tea aroma. Of course that made sense!

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The oval-shaped venue was brightly done up with yellow festoons and yellow coloured kiosks all around. Yellow is the colour of Temi Tea and it matched perfectly with green all around. On reaching there we realised the name of the festival was changed this year to Temi Autumn Carnival. But what’s in a name? There are still Cherry trees around the tea estate in full bloom keeping it as pretty as one can imagine.

Since we were early we lounged at one of the kiosks selling local beer and whisky along with some local delicacies like pork, chicken and beef starters. I tried the local beer sharing with my co- traveler. It was good !

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The inauguration got a bit delayed. It started at 1:30 p.m. The chief guest for the first day was the Honorable Minister of Urban Development Shri Arun Upreti who inaugurated the festival; and Mrs Krishna Rai, wife of Honorable Chief Minister of Sikkim.

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I met with the MD of Temi Tea Mrs. Mrinalini Shrivastava. I mentioned about the able leader earlier, remember? Here she was. I found her extremely graceful yet strong-willed. She had planned every aspect of the festival herself along with her close team. Every minute detail was taken care of. Every eventuality was considered. We were given food coupons and she made sure every guest was well taken care of. She was one of the last persons to have lunch after everyone was fed. I found her commitment truly remarkable.

The festival which is aimed at attracting tourists from India and other parts of the world was a colourful extravagant affair. It showcased Sikkim and its culture in its truest form. The unique Yak dance, local band performances, local music and dance, fashion show with host of other games and sports made the three-day festival entertaining as well as experiential. The kiosks sold local food, handicrafts, hand painting, local brew and various other interesting artifacts. I loved the yak dance (pretty awesome) and the dance performances of local children who decked up in colourful dresses and danced perfectly to Sikkimese and Hindi songs. It was heartwarming. I peeped into the greenroom right before their performances and got some delightful moments on camera.

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Food at the various stalls

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Local Handicrafts

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Little performers

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The Performance area

On the first day of the festival, post-lunch, I had the opportunity to sit down with Mrs. Shrivastava and listen to her vision for Temi. She also arranged for me to visit Bada Bangla –  the Temi Tea Resort, about which I had heard so much about. It’s a beautiful property overlooking the mountains, valleys and the river Teesta flowing hundreds of feet below.

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Bada Bangla, Temi Tea Resort

I came back to the festival ground in the evening to catch up on the last few programs. I bought a bottle of beer (it was cold!) and headed back to the homestay for a nice, warm evening (under the blanket, sipping beer) talking about our experiences at the Temi Autumn Festival. Tomorrow was another day.

It was a wonderful experience that I am going to cherish until next year (perhaps) when I visit Temi once again to create some new memories.

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At Temi Tea Factory

PS: My travel to Sikkim did not end at Temi. I traveled to Pelling and then to Gangtok and spent another 7 days around these places.  It was one of my most memorable solo travels ever. If you need any travel info in Sikkim do let me know. Mrs. Srivastava arranged to drop me up to Ravangla from where I took a taxi to reach Pelling, a 2-hour drive.

I have created a tea trail to Sikkim with Temi at its center. I already had a beautiful couple from Kerala travelling to Temi and staying at the Bada Bangla to celebrate their honeymoon. For complete itinerary please write to: itsourcuppatea@gmail.com

Temi – Tea, Cherry Tree Festival and Tea Travel: Part 1

I always wanted to visit Sikkim – had heard so much about the place – its natural beauty, food, people and, of course, Kanchenjunga! Then last year I saw some pictures of the Cherry Tree festival at Temi in Southern Sikkim and I was blown away.

As a tea artist and a tea blogger, I wanted to visit Temi and experience the Cherry Tree festival. I also wrote to them about my interest but it was too late, unfortunately.

This year luck turned on me unexpectedly and I was invited to visit Temi by the Temi Tea Company (the organizers of Cherry Tree Festival) and write a story about it. I was ecstatic.

This year the festival was scheduled between 8th and 10th November. I decided to reach there by 7^th  so as not to miss anything. I reached Bagdogra by a morning flight from Bangalore and was hoping to reach Temi by early afternoon. But there were other guests who are coming that day and the last arrival was at 1:30 p.m. So by the time we all got into the Sumo (sent by the MD of Temi Tea) it was well past 3:00 p.m. And we had 5 to 6 hours of drive ahead of us.

The driver was an expert, the company in the car was excellent and the scenery outside was awe-inspiring. By the time we reached Rangpo, it was dark and almost 7:00 p.m. We stopped there to savor the famous Sikkimese Momo before we started for the last leg of the journey.

Momo at Rangpo

As we entered Temi district, the road became quite bad. It was a 4 x 4 SUV hence the jerks and rolls were bearable. We joked that the road is helping us digest our food so that our dinner at Temi feels more sumptuous. The bad road lasted about 14 kilometer and slowed us down a bit. After that, the road widened and became smooth and very driving friendly. Our expert driver stepped on the accelerator and got us to our destination by 9:00 p.m. Not bad I thought!

My destination it seems was a cosy little Homestay which is part of the Temi Tea hospitality ecosystem. The homestay is run by a lovely local lady and her teenage daughter (she is studying and preparing for 12th exam). There was another guest who travelled with me and was also staying here. And Nabanita my other co-passenger, a fellow tea lover and entrepreneur, wanted to join us instead of going to her hotel which was further down. Nabonita and I decided to share my room and the hostess quickly moved stuff around and made a comfortable sleeping arrangement for my new roommate. We ordered a light dinner of chapati and chicken curry. Since the hostess had already cooked some chicken curry for us, the dinner got over quickly.

I found everything at the homestay to be very neat and clean –  the bed, linen, towel, cutlery bathroom etc. I don’t usually prefer to stay in big hotels but I definitely need a clean bed and a super clean bathroom. These are the musts. Here at this tiny two room homestay they exceeded my expectations on both these requirements.

In terms of food, I preferred their vegetarian options more than their non-vegetarian food, which was primarily chicken.

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Tea served to us in the room in these special cups with a local snack. The round-shaped snack is called Sel Roti, which is a deep-fried, soft pretzel made from fermented rice batter. These crispy crusted donuts are often eaten during festivals and special occasions.

Next morning my roommate had woke up early and ordered tea to be served at the terrace table. I got up hearing her placing the order and then joined the two of them at the terrace for my morning cup of fresh Sikkim tea. Sitting in an iron chair overlooking the valley and among the morning mist, it was the best morning tea for me in a long long time.

Me and My Morning Tea – clicked by Nabanita

The car was supposed to come and pick us at 9 am.  After a hot shower and a quick breakfast of bread and omelet, we climbed up to the main road to wait for the car. Since the car was getting delayed. We decided to walk a bit and meet the car on the way . 5 minutes of walk in the morning mountain road cleaned my mind and energized me immediately.  

We made the car just after 10 minute of our walk. The driver told us that the cherry festival will be inaugurated at 12:00 and asked what we want to do until then. We decided to travel in the car and get down whenever we feel like to click pictures. We stopped at two locations. One of the road bends gave us a magnificent view of the Kanchenjunga along with the other joining peaks. It was a Sunny clear day, visibility was superb, clouds had still not started floating towards us, and nature gave us our best few of the majestic peak. It was quite overwhelming. I am always haunted by the Himalayas, it’s one of those things that make you speechless in the most beautiful way.

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Kanchenjunga, Valley & Perfect Road

Next stop was the Temi Tea factory. I realised that at a certain vantage point on that road one can have a clear view of the Kanchenjunga, the factory building, and the cherry trees altogether.

All in one frame

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Temi Tea Factory, Our cheerful driver, Cherry Tree, our car and me.

 

Concluding part next week...

8 Reasons Why ‘Tea’ Should Be Your New Career Choice

Globally, the tea market was valued at nearly 50 billion U.S. dollars in 2017 and is expected to rise to over 73 billion dollars by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 5.7%.

In India, Tea is the most valued in the beverage market at about INR 180 billion and is expected to grow steadily.

The primary variable driving tea market growth is demand, which positively correlates with socio-economic factors such as income, education, and cultural background. In 2016, ready-to-drink teas surpassed sodas and other soft beverages in consumption for the first time, and markets for other popular health-conscious tea products such as matcha and kombucha continue to grow.

Global Tea Market Drivers:

• A rise in the disposable incomes of consumers has enabled the tea manufacturers to introduce premium and health-oriented products. A a shift towards the consumption of organic tea acts as an emerging trend which is having a positive impact on the growth of the tea market.
• Another major factor driving the growth of tea is its strong consumer acceptance, representing the world’s most consumed beverage after water.
• Over the past few years, the out-of-home market for tea has been expanding where various tea lounges have been opening across the globe offering a variety of handpicked teas from different regions.
• Many new tea brands have entered the market globally at different price points offering a combination of teas, herbal teas and tisanes.
• Consumers’ acceptance for tea as a premium drink comparable only, perhaps with wine, is an emerging trend in most parts of Europe.

Keeping these in mind, how many Tea Tasters, Tea Appreciators and Tea Masters do you think the Tea Industry will need soon? The answer is unimaginatively high. So, this is the right time to equip yourself with the knowledge and expertise on tea and embark on a very lucrative, high-flying, fashionable career. And that “age is truly not a bar” in this profession, makes it immensely attractive.

So, here are the Eight Reasons, why you must take up Tea as your new / next career opportunity:

1. You can become a Tea Consultant
2. You can become a Tea Trainer 
3. You can work with hotels / tea rooms which serves good/fine/luxury teas
4. You can become a Certified Tea Appreciator (none at this time in India)
5. You can work with Tea companies – Indian and International. There are many.
6. You can consult with international tea companies who don’t know much about Indian Tea
7. You can be a Tea Influencer
8. You can open your own tea room

The question now remains, how much money do you want to earn? 🙂

India is soon going to offer its first Indian Tea Appreciation Certificate Program. It’s going to be a 5 day fully residential program conducted at Darjeeling Tea Research and Development Centre (DTR&DC), a Tea Board India Institue. To apply, please write to itsourcuppatea@gmail.com