Guwahati: Arunachal Pradesh, considered a non-traditional tea-growing area, is leading the way by producing award-winning teas.
Donyi Polo tea estate in Arunachal Pradesh has won a gourmet tea award from a French tea contest.
The garden in the East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh became the first garden from the state to win at the ‘Teas of the World’ contest organised by Paris headquartered (AVPA) Agence pour la Valorisation des Productions Agricoles.
‘Golden Tippy’ was awarded the Diplome Gourmet in the black tea category. A few other gardens from India from Darjeeling this year have won awards at the contest. Gourmet tea means fine tea.
“We are very happy and elated to receive this honour. “Tea cultivars were selectively plucked from naturally grown areas, and we only plucked fine tea leaves. Golden Tippy is handcrafted by our tea artisans using traditional production methods including picking, withering, hand rolling, oxidation, drying and sorting,” Manoj Kumar, a senior official at the Donyi Polo Garden, told East Mojo.
The ‘Teas of the World’ contest is organised by AVPA to recognise that teas and herbal teas have a real gastronomic value well beyond the usual consumption of products in sachets.
The contest has two distinct parts: Monovarietal teas (camelia sinensis), with many categories depending on the method of preparation of the leaves and Herbal teas (infusion plants other than camelia sinensis), blends and flavoured teas.
The Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products, AVPA, is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation, headquartered in Paris, mainly composed of producers and taste enthusiasts. The association’s goal is to enhance the value of agricultural products and to recognise the excellence of some producers, too often forgotten in the midst of mass marketing. Apart from tea, it holds contests in coffee, chocolates and edible oils.
“Donyi Polo tea estate is a non-traditional tea growing area and there are many challenges in making tea. The team has made this possible through their passion and hard work. Good agricultural practices have made it possible to make excellent teas at the estate,” said Manoj Kumar.
Donyi Polo teas have fetched record prices at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre in the last few years. The garden is spread over 421 hectares and produces 15,000 kg of specialty tea and rest 15 lakh kg.
The garden has a Tea Artisan Centre which is run by the women who have worked on the estate and use their experience to make speciality tea. The tea artisan centre is headed by Junmoni Gogoi, an artisanal tea maker who supervises all the specialty teas from plucking to the finishing process. A Tea Excellence Centre teaches the art to those who are interested.
The contest accepts only teas which are traceable from origin, unblended, unflavored and harvested in whole leaves.
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The teas were sourced by Oriental Gardens, which specialises in importing origin teas from India to Europe. It has offices in India and France. It was started by Caroline and Bhaskar Dutta Baruah, a couple with many years of work experience in India, France and the UK.
“It is indeed a proud moment for our nascent venture and is the first time that a tea from Arunachal Pradesh has been recognised in this huge international forum where hundreds of teas from across the world participate,” the company said.
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