Teas grown at some misty high altitude areas in Sri Lanka or Nepal may come somewhat close to the universally celebrated beverage produced in the hills of Darjeeling and these may be selling in the world market as the ‘real’ hoodwinking the unsuspecting drinkers. Connoisseurs will, however, spit all that is fake. For a variety of reasons from climate change resulting in less rains and spells of drought to serious political turmoil in 2017 leading to suspension of plantation work in crucial months to steady migration of potential young plantation workers to the plains to escape from lowly paid garden jobs to city lights, production of fabled Darjeeling tea was down to about 6.20 million kg in 2021, the lowest in a long time from over 10 million kg annually through the 1990s.
Even while the eponymously named tea has always constituted a very small portion of India’s total yearly tea production of over 1.3 billion kg, there were times when over 40 million kg of tea a year was globally sold as Darjeeling brew. As members of Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA) and Indian Tea Exporters Association (ITEA) will bitterly complain unprincipled blenders and packers from both within and outside the country would mix large portions of teas of other origins with some Darjeeling tea and then pass it off as Darjeeling to unsuspicious buyers.
Fearing the erosion of brand equity of Darjeeling tea, which for its special attributes of muscatel flavour and light translucent colour of liquor has earned the moniker champagne of all teas, the Tea Board and industry long worked together to get for the tea grown in Darjeeling hills the Geographical Indication (GI) tag under World Trade Organisation to weed out counterfeit product sold as original, particularly in European markets.
This proved to be a long arduous campaign, for the mighty blenders and packers with links to MNCs took the stand that Darjeeling was only a “type of tea” and therefore, they were free to blend tea from Darjeeling hills with what was plucked in Sri Lankan hills or any other places. Darjeeling tea winning the GI tag in 2005, however, turned the hare-brained argument of packers and blenders got turned on its head. The mischief of misspelling blended tea as Darjeeling tea in European markets continued till September 2012 when the EU took the decision that only the packets containing 100 per cent tea sourced to Darjeeling hills having got the protected GI status could be sold as Darjeeling tea.
But what it is that lends Darjeeling tea the uniqueness putting it on a pedestal much higher than teas of any other origin? According to experts, drinking Darjeeling tea of light golden liquor is pure bliss because the crop grown in a high elevation of 150 metres to 2,100 metres on a unique kind of soil has the benefit of cool damp climate, Himalayan breeze touching hill slopes and constant mist that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Some will say some Taiwanese Oolongs come close to Darjeeling brew. But only ‘close.’ Moreover, under insistence of importers in Europe and Japan, the majority of Darjeeling gardens are totally transformed into making only organic tea with no traces of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The changeover no doubt has left an impact on production volume. But the demanding agro practice has improved soil fertility as planting of shade trees is helping in preservation of top soil.
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Along with production fall in Darjeeling hills, exports of premium tea from the region have shrunk alarmingly by nearly 25 per cent in the past two years. DTA chairman BK Saria regrets the “huge lack of global awareness” of GI of tea grown in Darjeeling hills even after all these years. To correct the situation, he is recommending an appropriately large promotional campaign, coordinated by the government represented by the Tea Board and industry in the EU, Japan and Russia in particular. Such promotion work should also be carried out in the US where more and more people are taking to drinking tea and are appreciative of a good cuppa. There is no reason why larger quantities of orthodox Darjeeling tea will not find bigger custom in these countries, if supported by marketing and promotional push.
What is also of major concern is large quantities of low cost tea originating in neighbouring Nepal finding their way into India duty free facilitated by trade agreement. Large quantities of Nepalese orthodox tea brought into India and sold in the market here as Darjeeling tea are having a deleterious effect on what is harvested in the hills of northern most district of West Bengal. Low priced Nepalese tea has depressed the prices of Darjeeling tea as it has hijacked a share of the latter’s domestic market. No wonder, imports have strained the finances of the high cost Darjeeling tea growers. Imports playing havoc have happened to the distress of Darjeeling growers at a time when because of Covid-19, domestic demand for the relatively expensive beverage in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore sank. People there in upper echelons have for the time being dispensed with afternoon tea drinking get-together.
India is also the destination for growing imports of large volumes of CTC (crush, tear, curl) tea. In the three years to March 2020, Indian tea imports were 60.35 million kg of which 36.92 million kg was retained within the country and the balance re-exported. Further, in the first eight months up to August 2021, tea imports into the country were up a hefty 34 per cent on a year-on-year basis, causing prices to fall. It is not, therefore, a day too soon that the Tea Board, which oversees the industry’s working woke up to the damage that cheap tea imports were doing to the local industry and trade.
What also is compromising Indian reputation of a quality tea producer and exporter is low quality teas from Nepal and Kenya on their arrival here are being marketed abroad as Indian beverage. The Board has threatened to cancel licences of importers if they are found to be bringing in cheap teas into the country. The move is triggered by compulsion to ensure that no other teas, imported or otherwise must be blended with the three lines of Indian teas – Darjeeling, Assam orthodox and Kangra and Nilgiris orthodox – for which geographical indication has been secured.
For the middling Darjeeling tea one may be paying around ₹1,000 a kg. But from time to time, some exclusive Darjeeling lines will find foreign buyers for over $1,500 a kg. Such teas come from either late first flush or the second flush. Growers of high quality tea in Darjeeling hills are quite picky about plucking only the best of two leaves and a bud from each plant. This helps in generating good flavour. The follow up withering, rolling and fermentation of leaves are also done with great care to create the unique beverage. Darjeeling tea is harvested and produced in four flashes: First flush is from March first week to May first week when the tea is greenish and the liquor is mild with floral aroma. The second flush running from third week of May to third week of June yields a more mature crop by way of flavour and liquor with a pronounced muscatel flavour. The rain crop coming between July and September is in bulk with hardly any distinguishing character. The fourth flush lasting from September end to mid-November yields strong liquor and also a distinct aroma.