The Nilgiri Tea Trail

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware.” Martin Buber.

A part of ancient landscape of Southern India, Nilgiris, which literally means the ‘Blue Mountain’, is known for its spectacular natural beauty, amazing wildlife, indigenous and ethnic people and tea!

Though Ooty, the quintessential Indian honeymoon destination is more widely known, Coonoor that lies just 18 kilometer away, is a quiet picturesque town that has put Nilgiris on the world map for its tea.

Every year more than 3 million tourists visit Ooty from various parts of the world, but not many of them are aware of its local legacy – Tea – and what it can offer to an enthusiastic and adventurous traveller who is willing to explore and experience.

Tea Tourism is a new concept that is slowly taking shape in the Indian hospitality domain. At the moment, tea tourism is confined to private tea estate bungalows which offer accommodation and promise a serene, quiet life for a few days away from the bustles of modern life.

Though this is a part of tea tourism, actual tea tourism is much bigger in concept and more inclusive and experiential. At Nilgiris, for example, one can indulge into all of the following activities or just pick one or two as they like:

Staying in a tea garden bungalow adds to the whole experience of your tea trail. However, if that is not what you want to do you can also opt for an accommodation nearby as per your budget and then plan your tea activities in a way that gives you the best immersive experience.

When at Nilgiris, I prefer to stay at a Tea Estate bungalow or at YWCA which is at Bedford area of Coonoor. Taj Gateway is just few minutes’ walk, and if you are a luxury traveler, then that is what I would suggest.

A typical tea trail can start with the factory walk where you get the first-hand experience of knowing and learning how some of the best Nilgiris teas are made.

The other thing I love to do is to actually have a picnic within a tea garden; you can spend time reading, relaxing, bird or butterfly watching or simply being in the vast expanse of green all around you. Couple of hours there and it truly soothes my tired soul.

Trekking and walking along the small pathways inside the tea garden is also an exciting activity. I also like to go plucking with the women tea pluckers who I always find very welcoming and smiling in spite of their very hard life. Tea plucking gives you a perspective about the life of a tea plucker, while at the same time it puts you right in the middle of so many women workers who are perhaps the only bread earners in their family. Tea industry employs the highest number of women as compared to any industry in the country.

Sunrise and sunsets are something that you can’t afford to miss while in the Blue Mountain. Your morning tea actually tastes better with the rising sun in the horizon. Believe me!

The Niligirs is also home to some very well-known tribes of India. The Badagas, whose village is just a diversion away on the Ooty – Emerald lake route – are the most hospitable and happy people that I have every met! (They are officially the Second most hospitable tribes in the world.) They have a unique dance routine where elders and youngsters come together and dance to the tune of their drum and other indigenous instruments. Join them in their dance – they love it. Half a day at their village is a good investment of your time.

The Nilgiris is part of the Nilgiris Biosphere – so don’t be surprised if you see a herd of bison crossing the tea estate quietly or a family of elephants giving you a welcoming nod when you are riding on the world heritage Blue Mountain Railways. The Blue Mountain Railways came into existence in 1908, so if you are taking a joy ride in it – you are becoming a part of an eventful history for life.

Nilgiris is known for many specialty teas. The orthodox / whole leaf tea is a GI registered, like Darjeeling Tea, Basmati Rice or Rossgulla. There are many notable tea factories all across the Nilgiris, a few of them would be Glendale, Chamraj, Thiashola, Craigmore, Tiger Hill.. Thiashola is the oldest tea garden in the Nilgiris (established in 1854) and comes with a very interesting history – when started the garden and factory were completely manned by Chinese prisoners of the Opium War brought over by the British since they believed all Chinese knew how to grow and make tea!

Korakundah, a part of the Chamraj Tea, is the highest tea estate in the country. It’s situated at an altitude of 7920 feet!

Any factory you visit, don’t forget to experience the Tea Tasting session. A Tea Appreciation session can also be organized if there is enough number of guests. The tea appreciation program also teaches you on how to identify and buy the fine Nilgiri teas and how to brew and steep them.

Nilgiris have an excellent ecosystem of small farmers whose hand-rolled and handcrafted teas are world-famous. Try them!

Nilgiris produce tea throughout the year and its nice mild weather makes it a wonderful perennial destination.

Did you know that chocolate makes one of the best pairing with most teas? Well, no wonder Ooty is famous for its chocolates and chocolate factories.

Teas to try from The Nilgiris:

1. White Tea
2. Green Teas
3. Oolong
4. Black
5. Winter Frost
6. And various other whole-leaf blends

How to reach Coonoor:

Option 1 : Fly into Bangalore International airport and then drive down to Coonoor. This will take about 6 hours.

Option 2: Fly into Coimbatore and Coonoor is just a 2 hours’ drive.  

For Tea Tourism inquiry, please write to itsourcuppatea@gmail.com

Picnic in a Tea Estate

Your Favourite Tea Bag is Killing You.

Loose leaf tea or tea bags? Authentic or Quickie?

The debate is on since the time someone in America “invented” tea bag by mistake (the dumbest and most horrifying invention to any true blue tea lover).

Well, I made my point already there! You see, if you consider yourself a true blue tea lover, you can’t be seen with a tea bag (Forget Simon Baker in Mentalist. He even added milk to a Chamomile tea bag!) Trust me. It’s like blasphemy. Or, may be more! It’s like drinking premixed “scotch” (sounds weird right? A brand tried to sell a premix whisky – didn’t work at all) and calling yourself a whisky connoisseur.

Now, that was all about passion. But passion, these days, are not that relevant after all. We need rationale. And we need scientific reasoning. So, here it is:

Before that let’s clarify what includes loose leaf and what’s a tea bag:

Most (90%) tea bags contain small cut leaf which is primarily tea dust and very broken tea leaves and twigs; while  Whole Loose Leaf Teas are primarily made up of Whole, large and Unbroken Leaves.

Tea grades such as dust & brokens have higher surface areas which means higher exposure to the essential oils and more of a chance for them to evaporate. The large grades have a relatively lesser surface area and hence the essential oils remain intact. Hence better Aroma, Better flavor and more Antioxidants!

Tea bags have limited space for the tea leaves to let water flow and absorb very little water and hence the infusion and the yield is not very flavorful, Loose Leaf tea have space to expand and hence allow the water to be absorbed and flow through the leaves and extract good amount of vitamins, minerals, flavors all along with great aroma.

Loose leaf teas can be reinfused several times (in many cases) unlike a tea bag.

Tea bags may release tannins more quickly when compared to loose leaf tea resulting in bitter and astringent brews.

Most tea bag teas are machine picked and machine make unlike most whole loose leaf tea which are carefully handpicked and carefully selectively processed.

Not convinced yet?

Ok… No problem. Let me share with you a study called the The Glaucus Studies, 2013

The Study consisted of 25 varieties of tea bags that were tested for 365 different illegal pesticides of the eight well-known brands. They are manufactured in India and China for global distribution. Some countries already have banned these brands, but not the U.S.

Here is the list of eight brands and 25 types of teas that were found “adulterated”:

1. Tetley – Pure Green Tea, Long Leaf Green Tea
2. Twinings – Classic Assam Tea, Classic Lady Grey, English Breakfast, Earl Grey
3. Uncle Lee’s Legends of China – Green Tea, Jasmine Green Tea
4. Celestial Seasonings – Authentic Green Tea, Antioxidant Max Blackberry Pomegranate, Antioxidant Max Blood Orange, Antioxidant Max Dragon Fruit, English Breakfast Black K-Cup, Green Tea Honey Lemon Ginger, Green Tea Peach Blossom, Green Tea Raspberry Gardens, Sleepytime Herbal Teas, Sleepytime Kids Goodnight Grape Herbal
5. Lipton – Clear Green Tea, Darjeeling Tea, Pure Green Tea, Yellow Label Black Tea
6. No Name – Black Tea
7. King Cole – Orange Pekoe
8. Signal – Orange Pekoe Two Cups

Unfortunately, if you drink tea, you may see several of your favorites on the list! The Glaucus Testing selected an independent and highly accredited lab, so there would be no discretions. The brands were chosen because they were specifically marketed as “100 percent natural and healthy.”

Source : https://www.sadakafirm.com/tea-bag-containing-deadly-pesticides/

It’s kind of ironic because some of the names like “Pure Green Tea” are nothing more than a marketing ploy to make you feel believe that it is all natural, this is exactly why organic whole leaf tea is always a better choice.

  

Toxic Tea Bags

So, if the alarming levels of pesticides wasn’t enough to get you to make the switch, perhaps the epichlorohydrin that is used to treat these tea bags to ensure that they do not disintegrate or tear, will. This chemical, epichlorohydrin is a chlorinated epoxy compound that is used as an industrial solvent. It is not only a strong skin irritant, but also a known carcinogen. According to Dow, it is a very dangerous chemical that requires a special handling procedure, and yep, that’s right – the tea bag companies mentioned above use this chemical to spray their bags. That chemical is not only being absorbed into our skin, but it’s being extracted in hot water and then consumed.  

Given your love for tea bag which you have been drinking as tea for a while now, how much poison are you now carrying in your body?

Conclusions:

Tea bags gained momentum in an era when there were no alternative to the convenience that they offered. People had foregone quality for convenience.

Now days there are enough tea accessories available in the market so making loose leaf tea is as much a convenience as much a tea bags!

I usually carry a strainer like this with me along with my tea leaves. It costs something between Rs.150-Rs.200 and are easily available in Amazon. If you are living outside India, please check online stores in your own country.

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

My Tea Workshop with Lloyd’s Tea House, Chennai

Lloyd’s Tea House is a well know tea room in Chennai –  you can say that this is the go-to place for all tea lovers in this land of coffee. Run by investment Banker Pavan Mahtani and his very accomplished baker wife, Lloyd’s Tea House, I found, is a buzzing joint filled with happy customers with air infused with the brewing teas.

I understood that this is the first time ever that the city of Chennai was hosting a Tea Appreciation workshop; and while I was surprised, I was truly honored to be the one conducting this maiden event.

Since tea is not a very understood beverage in Chennai (as well as in India), the workshop was an introduction to various types teas, aromas and flavours, how to taste teas and a basic introduction to tea and food pairing. I was pleasantly surprised to see a house full of attendants who participated attentively throughout the entire 75 min session. These are the teas that we tried with their paired food:

1. White : Second flush Castleton: paired with : Vol –au -vents
2. Oolong: Hari ghatta: paired with hash brown potatoes
3. Black: Temi Second Flush: paired with corn cheese balls
4. Herbal: Himalayan Rhapsody: paired with strawberry cup cake
5. Flowery : Chamomile: paired with lemon cake

The workshop went well, and was much appreciated. I was happy that each one of the participants went back home with at least one new learning about tea, which, I am hoping, would bring them close to this wonderful beverage.

I can’t end this note without mentioning the hospitality I received from the host and hostess. Right from picking me up from the airport to the well thought out breakfast box in the car, to my favourite dosa lunch, everything was well thought off and showed their generosity. They even had booked a hotel room for me for the day in case I need to take rest or freshen up. It was a wonderful experience and one that I would remember for years to come. And I hope to return to Chennai sometime soon with more tea workshops.

Thank you for this wonderful experience.

 

Tea in India – How it all began!

As per evidence it is been said that history of tea drinking dates back to 750 BC in India. It begins with a legend. A monk who later became the founder of Zen Buddhism decided to spend seven sleepless years contemplating the life and teachings of Buddha. While he was at fifth year of his contemplation and prayer, he almost fell asleep. He took some leaves from a nearby bush and began chewing them. These leaves revived him and enabled him to stay awake as he chewed on them whenever he felt drowsy. Thus he was able to complete his penance of seven years. These were the leaves of the wild tea plant.

During 16th century, people of India started preparing vegetable dishes using tea leaves along with garlic and oil. They boiled tea leaves to prepare a drink out of it.

Long before commercial production of tea started in India, tea leaves where growing wild in the jungles of north east Assam. The commercial production of tea was started with arrival of The East India Company in early 1820’s. The first Tea Garden was established by the British East India Company by the end of the 19th century after the Company took over tea cultivation in Assam.

And the rest, as they say, is History!

Tea & More. Much More

The Tea Cuppa