Darjeeling tea

Discover flavour of exclusive Darjeeling tea leaves that take on a special shape as they brew.
Tasseomancy says that your fortunes can be told by studying the pattern of tea leaves settled at the bottom of the cup! If it's like a snake, then it's bound to bring ill luck; if it's like a house, then success and so on...

Well, can't say about the future, but for the present, a visual treat is assured with the hand­crafted specialty Darjeeling tea. Known for its characteristic muscatel flavour, Darjeeling—the champagne of teas—has begun to come in special shapes, something, which the Chinese had pioneered. Catering exclusively to a bunch of elite tea connoisseurs worldwide, some tea gardens from the Darjeeling hills in northern West Bengal have taken to the manufacture of 'designer' or handcrafted tea.

"Handcrafted varieties are the super-special teas," explains Hrishikesh Saria, director, Sona Tea Company. "They are made of extremely tender leaves generally one leaf and a bud (not the two-leaf-and-a-bud that goes into making the traditional orthodox black Darjeeling tea) plucked from the best quality bushes in the plantation. Specially trained workers tie the leaves together, giving them different shapes. These teas are entirely unprocessed and the fermentation is natural and not induced."

The beauty of the tea bulb is unfurled when it is brewed in transparent tea pots or cups. In hot water, the tea leaves open up to reveal their shapes—stupa, peony rosette or Olympic flame. The jasmine-flavoured finger-twirled pearl shaped Dragon Pearl from Rohini and Avongrove tea estates, available in green and white varieties, opens up into one leaf and a bud before settling at the bottom of the pot, releasing 'delicately light and flirting flavoured' brew. The leaves of Norbu White Tea from the Gopaldhara tea garden, spread out in the aroma-steeped yel­lowish brew like stalactites and stalagmites.

Sold huge quantities of the Olympic Flame—tea leaves bunched together with a thread to a bulb, which opened up like the Olympic torch flames when brewed." The phenomenon has been greeted with resounding success worldwide, especially in the US, UK, Germany and Japan, he claims.

Of late, Darjeeling planters are experimenting with kinds of tea by varying the degrees of oxidation and fermentation. The fragrant and flowery Darjeeling tea is now available in green. white and oolong varieties, besides black. Says Saria, "The focus is on stand-alone teas that dc not need milk or sugar. Designer teas, available in the green and white varieties, are exclusive and cannot be produced in large quantities. We plan to launch white teas in bags soon."

The teas fetch between Rs 6,000 and Rs 13,000 per kg in the dome market and between Rs 15,000 and Rs 50,000 in the international market. The designer trend is alsc fuelled by growing domestic consciousness. His wife Priyanka helps design packages. Having relied on its unique flavour so far, the Champagne of the East tea now looks forward to redefine its role as the undisputed king of the world's teas. Coming back to Tassceography, Darjeeling's future looks truly flowery.