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Darjeeling tea is a type of tea made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis grown in one of the gardens officially classified as a Darjeeling garden. Many of these gardens are growing jats (tea plant cuttings) that came from China in the 1880s. And many of these jats are now being replaced by clonal tea plants being given names like AV-2 and Jethi Kupi.
There are usually three flushes (periods of growth that then get harvested) during the growing season.
All of our Darjeeling teas have the Darjeeling Tea Protected Origin Status.
The Darjeeling tea industry has been going through a hard time. Pushes to convert to all organic farming have cost tea farmers a lot of money and reduced yields by as much as one third. Factory fires have occurred at several gardens, with a heavy rebuilding expense. Garden owners have also been pushed into the expense of providing housing and schooling for workers and their families. Strikes have resulted in higher wages but not greater productivity and market prices for the teas. As a result, gardens are closing such as Peshok Tea Estate (still listed in tour guide books, though).
We do what we can to offer these teas to our customers at affordable prices, with a minimum markup to cover our administrative costs.
Basically, “clonal” comes from “clone.” Clonal refers to the method of controlled breeding of plants to produce the best results but is fairly rare in the tea industry due to the expense. Clonal tea bushes are not grown from seeds but from hybrid clones. A lot of times, these clones are developed by research laboratories, much the same way many other plants that have a commercial use are developed. They are bred for specific qualities and are thus some of the most sought after teas, usually selling quickly despite generally higher prices. Many Darjeeling gardens (about 87 in total) are now growing a good percentage of clonal plants.
Note: Different tea clonals have different caffeine levels, with the younger, more tender leaves having a higher caffeine content than older leaves, and the stalks having an even lower content, plus how the leaves are plucked and seasonal fluctuations can also make quite a difference (often a variance of 24-30%) in caffeine levels.
We don’t carry tea from all the gardens of Darjeeling. We carry (or have carried or will carry in the future) teas from some of these gardens and thought you’d like to know a bit more about them.
Elevation: |
900 to 1,820 meters |
Location: |
close to Darjeeling town |
Founded: |
1763 by Buddhist Monks |
Annual Production: |
65 metric tons |
Factory: |
Current factory built in 1999 |
Tea plants: |
China jats, clonals |
Processing Style: |
Orthodox |
Arya means ‘respectable’ and ‘best’ in the Indian language. The estate’s teas reflect the best qualities of first and second flush teas as well as green and rare teas. The garden struggles financially due to the loss of a factory that had been modernized at a cost of 120,000USD, burnt to the ground, and then was rebuilt at a cost of 350,000USD and now the switch to organic production pushed by the USDA and the EU, causing a drop of almost one third in tea production without a comparable rise in prices and sales.
According to historical records at the garden, it was established by a team of Buddhist monks who developed and cultured different varieties of Chinese seeds at the time.
The estate has the first hydel power generation in Asia.
Elevation: |
980-2300 meters |
Location: |
Kurseong South Valley of Darjeeling |
Founded: |
Originally planted in 1885 by Dr. Charles Graham |
Annual Production: |
30,545 Kgs |
Factory: |
Spotlessly clean with gleaming white tea tables for spreading out the leaves to wither |
Tea plants: |
China bushes |
Processing Style: |
All orthodox style teas and considered by many to be among the finest |
Tea Master Mr. DB Gurung creates a wonderful flavor profile in these delightful teas.
See more info here.
The name Castleton has been derived from a building that looked like a castle and still exists in Kurseong. This Castle ('Bank Ghar') belonged to a money lender who made the grandiose fort. The original name of this garden was Kumseri. The various sections of this gardens have been given names such as Bhalu Khop (bear cave), Jim Basha (the erstwhile manager's domain), Dhobitar (washerman's clothes line), Baseri (resting place).
Castleton's teas have rose like fragrance, golden like sun-spun amber and are most prized for their unique 'muscatel' comparable to sweet summer wines with intense fragrant top notes of musk.
Elevation: |
3,362-7,000 feet |
Location: |
eastern valley of Darjeeling |
Founded: |
1859 (one of the first gardens planted) |
Annual Production: |
170,000 kgs. |
Processing Style: |
Orthodox |
Elevation: |
4,864 feet |
Location: |
On a mountain a short drive from Kurseong |
Founded: |
1881 |
Run by: |
Singh family since it’s founding |
Annual Production: |
About 14,000 lbs |
Factory: |
Small, sits near the family home |
Tea plants: |
Almost 100% pure Chinese jats (cultivar of the tea plant Camellia sinensis) |
Processing Style: |
Orthodox using traditional and legendary methods for Darjeeling teas, entirely hand-plucked and processed |
The temperatures at this elevation tend to be rather cool so that the plants grow more slowly, producing the fine aroma and flavors in the leaves and cup.
Elevation: |
3,000-6,000 feet |
Location: |
in the prime quality belt between Jungpana to the East and Castleton to the West |
Founded: |
1899 |
Annual Production: |
100,000 kgs. |
Tea plants: |
‘China' variety |
Processing Style: |
Orthodox |
The temperatures are cool to moderate and rainfall is generous, making this garden ideally situated for production of quality tea. These conditions, combined with alternating mist and sunshine help produce the slow growing conditions, which are so necessary for natural quality development in the leaf. It includes several waterfalls and a beautifully landscaped flower garden surrounding a heritage bungalow.
Forced into organic production to be able to sell teas to US and EU markets, the Majhua Division of Goomtee has completed conversion to organic farming. This has reduced production and therefore income to the garden and the people dependent on it since prices have not gone up comparably. The garden has further economic pressure on it by having to provide services for workers that it cannot afford such as schooling for the children of workers. And as those children grow up, they leave to get other jobs, causing a worker shortage and further restricting supply.
Elevation: |
3,500-7,000 feet |
Founded: |
1881 |
Annual Production: |
130,000 kgs. |
Processing Style: |
Orthodox |
Elevation: |
3,000-4,500 feet |
Location: |
On the south side of a mountain in the foothills of the Himalayas |
Founded: |
1899 (planted by Mr. Henry Lennox, a British pioneer who also planted the original Goomtee garden) |
Run by: |
Kejriwal family since 1953 |
Annual Production: |
80,000 kgs. |
Tea plants: |
Pure Chinese jats |
Processing Style: |
Orthodox using manufacturing techniques |
Founded: |
1864 |
Annual Production: |
280,000 kgs. |
Factory: |
built in the year 1930 after dismantling the old factory by Mr. John Taylor with the help of a Chinese businessman, Mr. Longsin |
Tea plants: |
China variety |
Processing Style: |
Orthodox |
Elevation: |
1970 meters |
Location: |
Darjeeling East Valley of Darjeeling |
Annual Production: |
115,000 Kgs annually |
Tea plants: |
Chinese Jat (gives it the distinctive muscatel character) |
Processing Style: |
Orthodox |
Elevation: |
1,500 feet, Jaberhat division, about 20 to 24 hectares. Kotidhara and Pailodhora divisions, about 70 to 80 hectares, have AV2 and T-78 China clones, producing high quality teas more than 4,000 feet, Tukuriya division |
Location: |
in Kurseong |
Founded: |
Unknown |
Annual Production: |
138 hectares planted (110 hectares replanted as of 1994) out of 320 hectares total |
Factory: |
new and incorporates all hygiene and food safety requirements |
Tea plants: |
China jats, clonals |
Processing Style: |
Orthodox |
Sister gardens: Gopaldhara Tea Estate in the Darjeeling hills and New Glencoe and Soongachi Tea Estate in the Dooars.
Rohini Tea Estate is known to produce some of the most exquisite muscatel teas, from its second flush crop.
Elevation: |
about 5,200 feet (where the tea plants are) |
Factory: |
new with all modern equipment |
Tea plants: |
Many are over 130 years old |
Processing Style: |
Orthodox |
‘Soom’ in Lepcha Language, (local dialect) means 'Three' or 'Triangular.' This might account for the estate’s name since it is bounded by three streams, making it somewhat triangularly shaped. However, ‘Soom’ also means 'holy abode' and has a holy deity worshipped there, so that might account for the estate’s name.
1st Flush is vigorous because:
It is not uncommon for some 1st Flush teas (March through to mid April) to be rushed to Germany in a race similar to the Beaujolais Run.
Elevation: |
762 to 1890 meters |
Location: |
snug in the shadows of Kanchenjunga Mountain, West Bengal, India |
Annual Production: |
400,000 Kgs. |
Processing Style: |
Orthodox |
Part of the tea tourism scene where you can view the beauty of nature and have tea in the tea factory.
The name ‘Thurbo’ comes from the word ‘tombu’ (camp) since a camp had been set up there by the British when they were getting ready for a conflict with Nepal. There are nearby orange orchards and orchid farms, making it seem like quite a paradise. Add to that abundant rainfall and moderate temperatures (41-79°F).