Announcement: April Promotions

With the return of Bill from his India trip, TeaSource is taking the month of April to shine a light on this tea producing country. We will have a number of special events, discounts, and education revolving around the Darjeeling, Assam, and Nilgiri tea growing regions.

Monthly Specials
Visit our store or shop online and take advantage of a 20% off discount on a variety of featured Indian teas.

Travelogue
Keep your eyes on Beyond the Leaf for Bill’s musings about his trip to India. He traveled through the streets of Kolkata, to the mountains of Darjeeling, and to the wide fertile plains of Assam.   See photos from tea estates, learn more about India’s tea culture, and hear about Bill’s personal experiences while traveling.

Contest
While you follow along on Beyond the Leaf, leave a comment. All commenters will be entered into a drawing for some free tea! More details here …

Travel in Tea: India workshop
Have the unique experience of hearing about Bill’s trip first hand, while tasting Indian teas. Attend a special workshop to hear more about meeting tea growers and brokers, staying at tea gardens, and tasting some wonderful early first flush Indian teas. Outside of the Twin Cities? We will be broadcasting the workshop on Livestream on Wednesday, May 7^th. Learn more here…

What is Milk Tea?
Bill discovered a different way to prepare tea, a technique that the Indian culture has been using for more than a hundred years. On April 17^th at Noon (CST), Bill will be demonstrating how to make this popular tea beverage in a live broadcast on Livestream.

 

We hope you join in and discover the world of Indian teas!

A little bit about a lot of Indian tea

India grows a lot of tea. It is the second largest tea producer in the world (China is first) – making over one million metric tons of finished tea per year. But the story told to us about Indian tea is actually much larger than India (and India is big!). It is also about the British empire; it is about the East India Company and the consequences of global trade; and it is about the influence of the west on the east.

Up into the 19^th century, tea plants and the tea trade belonged to China. But the demand for tea was rapidly growing in the west and so were the pressures with the East. Because the Chinese had a monopoly on tea and little interest in European goods, they could demand to be paid in silver, causing the British to run significant trade deficits (an issue America and China are grappling with today). To reverse the flow of silver back home, the British began selling large amounts of cheap opium (grown in India) to China. Furious at the British for turning their country into opium addicts (and depriving them of silver), the Chinese began confiscating and destroying the British opium supplies. The British retaliated with military force and fought what we now refer to as the first “opium war” of 1839-1842.

While these tensions were escalating, the British discovered an indigenous tea plant (camellia sinensis var. Assamica) growing in India. This was of no significance to the rest of the world until a couple employees of the East India Company began a project to start cultivating these wild tea plants in Assam. Motivated to find a commercial alternative to Chinese tea, the British had already been experimenting with growing tea in India. The lack of experience and infrastructure (Assam was an undeveloped jungle at the time) prevented any real success up to this point, but these Assam tea plants proved well suited for the warmer climates of India. Through the stubborn persistence of the British (none of this came easy and often ended tragically) and help from imported Chinese knowledge and labor, the cultivation of tea in India became viable – and the proliferation of the Assam plant grew it to the size it is today. As the modern Indian tea industry established, three “official” geographically recognized tea producing regions emerged: Assam, Darjeeling, and Nilgiri.

 

Assam 

The home to India’s native tea plant, Assam was a jungle surrounding the Brahmaputra River valley in east India. It currently produces over 50% of India’s total tea output and Assam teas are noted for being strong, full-bodied, with malty flavors. The indigenous Assamica plant prefers the warm, lush environment of its home and can stay productive most of the year, though 2^nd flush teas are often considered the best. CTC teas are common in Assam. CTC, or “crush, tear, curl,” teas are machine processed versus orthodox manufacturing. But fine orthodox teas are still available and range from their traditional deep, malty cups to sweet, almost tobacco-like flavors, similar to Yunnan teas (which is not surprising since the cultivars are similar and nearby on the map).

 

Darjeeling 

This famous tea produced at the foothills of the Himalayas in Northern India is not only unique among Indian teas, but distinguishes itself from teas grown anywhere else in the world. The British started coming to these picturesque mountains for relaxation and recuperation – the high mountain air was considered healthy and cleansing. But the high altitudes, cooler weather, and well-drained soil proved to be perfect for growing tea – particularly the Chinese tea plant, which prefers this climate over the tropical weather of Assam and Nilgiri. Darjeeling teas are known to steep up light, floral, fresh, and sometimes astringent. They also market the significant seasonal contrasts produced between the first and second flushes. (For more, read our blog post “I’m dealing Darjeeling” )

 

Nilgiri (South India)

The teas of the “Blue Mountains” of Southern India are often overshadowed by the Darjeeling and Assam, but no less important to the story of India tea. Because of the tropical environment, Nilgiri plants (primarily the Assamica variety) will flush year round and are not separated by “flushes” like Assam and Darjeeling teas. Known for their smooth, fruity, gentle nature, the best orthodox teas from Nilgiri happen in the winter months of January and February, where sometimes even a little frostbite from the highest elevations can add unique and desirable complexity to the cup.

 

The above is not comprehensive. There are many details to fill in, many exceptions, and still much to learn. As always, the best way to learn is to taste them, and read more.

-Michael Lannier
TeaSource manager