News — about tea

Far from the news reports in the USA, massive protests have shut down Darjeeling, the famous tea growing region, for the last two months. Lives have been lost, and industries decimated. Considering that this is an important issue in tea, we want to give you a brief overview of current issues in Darjeeling. Darjeeling Problems have been a long time coming Darjeeling is tea growing region located in the Himalayas. It is home to 87 tea estates. Unlike Assam, Darjeeling teas are grown on hillsides at high altitudes. Elite tea drinkers seek out these teas for their light, subtle flavors,...

It’s hot. Everywhere. But still we want tea. Times like these try a tea lover’s soul. Yes, of course one could grab a ready to drink ice tea out of the glass fridge in the grocery store, but they never deliver that sweet, rich Assam taste. You can try to brew a tea hot, then chill it down in the fridge, but inevitably you get a drink that tastes stale. There are better ways to beat the heat with tea. These easy recipes take a bit of planning, but remove the risk badly brewed ice tea. Mana Organics Cold Brew...

Last week we shared how we made MP 9 ready for planting tea. Now let’s see how we plant the bushes themselves. We started planting MP 9 on February 10, 2017. We have already planted 57,000 bushes. We still have about 10,000 bushes to finish. Planting a subsection of tea comprises three steps. First, a pair of workers measure out the rows with special chain. The ensure that the rows have the proper space by precisely staking the ends of the planting chain. They then drop a bit of dolomite at the meeting of each chain link to mark the...

One thing tea bushes do not like is the cold. Nor do they take to dry weather. Every year from mid-December to the beginning of March, Assam experiences its cold dry season. The tea bushes go dormant, refusing to put out any new leaf. We have not plucked a cup’s worth of tea at Chota Tingrai since December. But that does not mean we have not been busy! Here’s everything we doing in the gardens. We prune the tea bushes: To promote healthy growth in the spring, we prune tea bushes on a three-year cycle—unpruned, deep skiff, and light prune....

Idyllically located next to a meandering river and a protected forest, Chota Tingrai Tea Estate is not a place of hot tempers, or fierce arguments. But one topic does regularly round the debating circles- which is worse, goats or monkeys? We haven’t been able to come to a conclusion. So we need your help. Below are the arguments from both sides as to why goats or monkeys cause more havoc on the tea estate. Goats Goats damage tea bush branches: Goats don’t eat the tea bush themselves. But a goat considers a few snapped tea branches collateral damage in the...