INDIA - DARJEELING
The town of Darjeeling is in the north of India on the southern slopes of the Himalayas. Until 1835 this belonged to Sikkim and was then annexed by Britain. The world-wide known tea gardens are grouped around Darjeeling at an altitude of over 2000 meters. The history of 'Darjeeling tea' began about 150 years ago when the British medical officer and future supervisor Dr Campbell stationed in Darjeeling sowed some tea leaves on his land as part of a private study. This experiment was so successful that the English government in 1847 decided to cultivate tea in the Darjeeling area. Tea plants grow more slowly at this altitude and the tea leaves develop a very flowery and nourishing aroma under the intensive sun. | The tea leaves are still harvested primarily by hand. For 50g Darjeeling tea about 1000 leaves must be picked by hand. The cultivation of tea was and still is a very work intensive occupation. Many workers have spent years building and working on terraces, planting tea, picking tea leaves and finally working with the leaves. |
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