FOOD & SHOPPING

Best Places For Tea Lovers

Prachi Joshi

Last updated: Apr 3, 2017

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India is known to consume and produce more tea than any other country in the world, except China - evidently we cannot do without our everyday chai! However, it’s not always possible to get your ritual cuppa, especially when you travel. Fear not, as we have picked out the best places for tea lovers – not just in India but across Asia. Take a look and plan your very own tea trail.

Assam

assam best places for tea

The largest tea-producing region in India, Assam is known for its dark tea with a robust flavour, often described as malty. Assam’s gorgeous acres of tea estates largely produce the CTC variety of tea – CTC stands for crush, tear and curl and refers to the way black tea is processed. The region also produces small quantities of green and white teas.

Assam tea is harvested twice a year – the first flush is harvested around March and the second flush, which is more prized, is picked when the leaves turn gold-tipped. Most of the estates are located in Upper Assam and Southern Barak Valley. Jorhat is known as the Tea Capital of the World and this small city has been the main centre of tea cultivation in the state. A visit to Assam is certainly incomplete without visiting a tea estate and adjoining factory. Savour some of the best teas at one of the heritage tea bungalows that dot the estates. Mid-May to end of June sees the best quality tea being harvested. If you go later in the year, don’t miss the annual tea festival held in Jorhat in November.

Darjeeling

darjeeling best places for tea

The popular hill station in West Bengal, Darjeeling, is responsible for nearly 25% of the country’s tea production. Lighter in colour than Assam tea, Darjeeling tea also has a more delicate floral aroma and it’s known as the Champagne of teas. Darjeeling tea comes in black, green, white and oolong variants. It became the first product in India to receive the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, which is a certification that the product enjoys a reputation due to its geographical origin. Tea produced only at certain estates notified by the Tea Board of India can be known as Darjeeling Tea.

Unlike Assam tea, Darjeeling tea is harvested five times in a year and the third harvest (or second flush) produces the best quality of tea, both in terms of flavour and colour. Darjeeling white and Darjeeling oolong are also much prized. There are some 87 operational tea gardens in Darjeeling and it is one of the best places to try tea in India. Most of the tea estates date back to the British period and boast of beautiful colonial architecture. You can stay on the estate, watch tea being processed and if you visit in the harvest seasons, you can also help picking tea leaves.

Munnar

munnar best places for tea

Tucked away in God’s Own Country is the hill station of Munnar, home to more than 50 lush green tea plantations. The Kanan Devan Hills have been cultivated for tea since the 1870s by the British and many tea estates date back to the Raj. About 40 kilometres from Munnar town is Kolukkumalai, which at 7,900 feet, is the highest tea plantation in the world. You can take a guided tour of the estate, try several varieties of tea and also get a glimpse of the tea processing.

India’s first Tea Museum is also located in Munnar at the Nullatanni tea estate. You can get an idea of the history of tea processing through the ages and the museum is also home to an urn dating back to 2 BC! The museum also offers a tea tasting demonstration. August to May is the tourist season at Munnar, though December and January can get quite cold.

Japan

japan best places for tea

Tea is the most popular beverage in Japan; both hot and cold teas are very much a part of the Japanese culture. In fact, the elaborate Japanese Tea Ceremony or the Way of Tea is an important cultural activity, which makes Japan one of the best places to try tea. Tea is largely cultivated in Shizuoka, Kagoshima and Uji districts. Tea ceremonies may be informal gatherings or formal meetings, the latter lasting up to four hours! Green tea is the central element of most tea ceremonies and it is either used in form of tea leaves (ryokucha) or powdered (matcha). Sometimes it’s also roasted (hojicha) or flavoured with jasmine (sanpincha), a variant that is very popular in Okinawa. The ritual tea ceremony varies according to the season.

Most restaurants in Japan serve tea with meals and you will also find it at supermarkets and vending machines. Many temples also serve tea and a sweetmeat to visitors – it is typically served in a quiet tatami room, overlooking beautiful scenery. There are two ways in which tea is prepared – thick and thin, with the best leaves being reserved for the thick tea. The entire ritual, from the use of the kettle to the pouring of tea, is done according to strict procedures.

China

China is considered the ‘birthplace’ of tea and Hangzhou in China is famous for its premium green tea called Longjing Tea, literally translated as Dragon Well Tea. This tea has been granted the prestigious Gong Cha (Imperial Tea) status. Longjing tea is pan-roasted soon after picking to stop the oxidation process and it results in a nice yellow-green tea once it’s steeped in traditional clay pots (or more commonly in porcelain or glass pots nowadays).

Tea is an important part of Hangzhou’s culture and a tea tour is a must-do here. The tour usually includes a visit to the National Tea Museum located in Longjing village near Hangzhou. You can also visit the surrounding tea fields and get a tea tasting. There are also several ‘tea villages’ near Hangzhou, with Meijiawu being just 20 minutes away. Here you can hike up the hills into the tea plantations and also try your hand at picking tea leaves (harvest season is usually late March-early April – the Qing Ming Festival). You can watch the tea masters hand-roasting the leaves, which is a slow laborious process, and also taste various grades of Longjing tea. The tea villages make a great day trip from Shanghai.

Sri Lanka

sri lanka best places for tea

The Emerald Isle of Sri Lanka is home to acres of vibrant green tea plantations and tea is one of the mainstays of the country’s economy. The country is the fourth largest producer of tea and a major exporter. Like in India, tea plantations were founded by the British in the mid-19^th century. Kandy is the centre of tea production in Sri Lanka, though other regions such as Nuwara Eliya, Matara, Badulla, etc. also produce tea. The Ceylon black tea is the most popular beverage here; of course small quantities of green white teas are also produced. Dilmah is the most popular brand here and at the company’s headquarters outside Colombo you can participate in private tea tastings. There are colonial-era plantation bungalows near Galle and in Bogawantalawa Valley where you can stay on a tea estate and partake English-style high tea. Dimbulla is another area known for its range of excellent teas, from full-bodied to light, or try the fragrant teas of Uva. Whatever your preference, Sri Lanka has a tea to match it!

So, don’t wait any longer for your perfect tea trail, and travel to these wonderful places with MakeMyTrip!

Comments

akshara | on 27 August 2018

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