If you love your tea as much as we do, then you must consider taking a trip to a tea garden in India. No, we don’t mean a restaurant or cafe with a garden that serves tea, but the actual tea estate where the tea plantations are situated. These lush green forest areas are so tranquil and provide the ultimate backdrop to sip your tea. Ready to start your journey?
Darjeeling is known for producing the finest teas in the world, which have a unique taste and aroma. The region is situated near the Himalayas. The peaceful surroundings of the Himalayas will transform your senses. There are currently 87 tea gardens in Darjeeling that are open. These estates are spread over an area of about 19,000 hectares and around 52,000 daily workers are employed there. During the plucking season from March to November, an additional 15,000 pluckers are employed in the plantations. So don’t worry you won’t get lost. Just do not disturb them as the skilled work they do produces your delicious cup of tea.
Assam is the next stop on our tea garden adventure. The region of Assam is one of the largest producers of tea in the world. Each year the tea gardens collectively yield over 1.5 million pounds of tea. In fact, Assam and Southern China are the only places to have indigenous tea plants. The land in the tea gardens of Assam are so productive, they even have their own time zone. “Tea garden time” is 1 hour ahead of Indian standard time. This system was introduced to make the best use of the early sunrise. In Assam, you will also spot animals such as the Hoolock Gibbon, Red-headed Vulture, and one-horned Rhino. Teas are grown in Assam at just 45-60 meters above sea level. This is very low compared to other regions like Darjeeling, where teas are grown here between 600 to 2000 meters above sea level.
The other areas you should consider visiting to soak up the atmosphere of Indian tea gardens are Nilgiris Hills in Tamil Nadu, Dooars-Terai in the West Bengal region, Kangra in Himachal Pradesh and Munnar in Kerala. If you’re not able to start you’re sabbatical just yet, we can bring the tea gardens to your home. Our teas are sourced from the very best tea gardens of India, which includes Darjeeling. To order our teas click here.
