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The Queen of Himalayas – Darjeeling Tea

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By Abhay SharmaPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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The Queen of Himalayas – Darjeeling Tea
Photo by rajat sarki on Unsplash

This tea is grown in the Himalayan region of Darjeeling, India. The name itself represents a sense of belonging to where it grew up. Thus, the name "Darjeeling Tea" comes from its unique location. Darjeeling is often called ‘tea champagne’ and it is widely popular for its tea. Since 1856, tea has been a commercial crop, and today it is grown and cultivated on 87 tea farms or gardens.

Darjeeling tea, also known as the fine wine of teas, is well-known for its delightful aroma and is loved by all tea lovers around the world. With slightly acidic soils, subtropical mountainous conditions, and a climate that changes from clear to frequent cloudy seasons, Darjeeling is ideal for high-quality muscatel-flavoured teas. The region produces 13 million kg of carefully selected tea every year, representing only 1% of the total tea production in India.

Except for rare blends, Darjeeling tea is moderately sweet & spicy. It is well-known for its pleasant musky variety. Locally, it is sometimes called "muscatel", like the muscat range of grapes. Because of this, and due to its light astringency, it can also induce a feeling of drinking grape juice or wine.

Types of Darjeeling Tea

Darjeeling White Tea

This is the most priced (commands the highest price) and delicate kind of Darjeeling tea. Tea is harvested from the garden, dried in the sun, planted by hand, and then harvested manually from the site. There are no other stages of white tea processing. Tea leaves retain their original organic form, which retains all the natural ingredients and minerals. White tea is generally very light, so when preparing tea you need to add more leaves than other varieties.

Darjeeling Black Tea

Black tea, a traditional Darjeeling drink, is a fully processed tea grown in all Darjeeling gardens. This type of tea goes through all stages before it is fully prepared. Stages involved in the process – drying, rolling out, sorting, and fermenting.

Darjeeling Oolong Tea

Oolong tea is a semi or partially fermented tea. This tea is acquainted with the traditional tea of China. It has a slightly sweet fruity aroma and delicious flavour. It is classified into black tea and green tea according to taste, nutritional value, and processing method. This is a good option for those who prefer low-caffeine teas.

Darjeeling Green Tea

This rare and delicate tea requires special care and attention when brewing. Due to the special processing method of Darjeeling green tea, it is packed with antioxidants & polyphenols, which makes this tea very useful for health.

Health Benefits of Darjeeling Tea

This exquisite tea is high in antioxidants and helps boost immunity. It can refresh you with every sip and can also improve your metabolism and mental focus.

Darjeeling tea is produced over a span of nine months with three major tea flushes (spring, summer, and autumn) and two minor flushes "in-between major flushes" as well. Every flush yields different types of tea, and no two flushes produce the same variety of tea.

The price of Darjeeling tea varies depending on the quality, although you can get affordable tea as well. But if you are looking for the highest quality Darjeeling tea, it will be expensive. Of course, there are various tea gardens that produce tea, but their production is only 10 million kilograms per year. In the magnificent Darjeeling Tea Garden Valley, only 500 kg of dried tea leaves are yielded per hectare.

Finally, the most remarkable feature of authentic Darjeeling tea is its "taste, flavour, and delicate aroma". Thanks to modern technology and online shopping platforms, you can now get all varieties of Darjeeling tea at your doorstep.

Thanks for reading!

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About the Creator

Abhay Sharma

A soul on a journey...

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