Arya Tea Estate in the Darjeeling district

Darjeeling district

Darjeeling District is the northernmost district of the state of West Bengal in eastern India in the foothills of the Himalayas. The district is famous for its beautiful hill stations and Darjeeling tea. Darjeeling is the district headquarters...

 of West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 is a manufacturer of specialty teas

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

 for international sale, as part of the Indian holding company Eurasia Group. The estate sits at an average altitude of 1500 meters and covers 125 hectares, with just over 300 acres (1.2 km²) under tea plantation.

Arya Tea Estate does business as Arya Tea Co. Ltd., Kolkata

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

 and its operations are certified USDA

United States Department of Agriculture

The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...

 Organic

Organic certification

Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, [food] processors, retailers and restaurants.Requirements vary...

by IMO Control. Additionally, Arya is a certified member of the Darjeeling Tea Association.

History

The Arya Tea Estate was established in 1885 and was originally known as ‘Sidrabong’. Legend tells that the garden was founded by Buddhist monks who developed and cultivated different varieties of Chinese seed. The house inhabited by the monks in the 19th century can still be found on the estate.

The original factory was destroyed by a fire in May 1999, leading to the construction of a new factory costing USD 350,000.

Overview

The plantation starts at an altitude of 1820 meters and spreads down to 900 meters, with an average elevation of about 1500 meters. It produces around 70 tons of tea annually, 30 tons less than before the estate became organic. Some of its most famous teas are its ‘Jewel’ range, including Ruby (Black Tea), Emerald (Green Tea), Pearl (White Tea), Diamond (Chunky Tips) and Topaz (Oolong).

The roads leading to the estate are extremely cumbersome, often with a gradient of up to 60 degrees, making it extremely difficult to drive vehicles there. During the winter months all estates in Darjeeling are quiet, until the harvests begin again in February.