Why is Darjeeling tea expensive compared to others?
An acre of land yields only 500 kg of dry tea in fine tea growing areas of Darjeeling, about a third of the yield of many non-specialty teas grown at lower elevations. Each bush yields only 100 grams of finished tea, the result of 20,000 individually handpicked leaves.
Why Organic tea?
With the world economies and competition, tea estates have been trying to increase production by using synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, rather than using the old method of shade grown tea with natural fertilizers and manpower for weeding. Both coffee and tea production are heavy users of synthetic chemicals, some of which are banned in industrialized countries. These chemicals are carcinogenic. The small farmers and laborers are not knowledgeable as to how to handle them safely. This regularly takes the lives of many farm workers. In the case of coffee it is believed that at least the consumers are protected because during roasting the high temperatures drive off most of these harmful chemicals. However, in the tea processing temperatures are not very high, so even the consumers are at risk. See link to organic farming and certified organic.
What is biodynamically grown tea?
Biodynamic agriculture is different from just organic. It uses organic methods of agriculture plus cosmic energy to plant, harvest, and prepare natural fertilizers and pesticides. It was introduced by the German scientist Rudolph Steiner and is currently used by some of the forward-looking tea estates in Darjeeling in India. See link to biodynamic farming.
How to best prepare tea infusion:
Heat the water to just below boiling, pour it over the leaves and let it seep for 4 to 6 minutes before straining. Green teas should be seeped for lesser time than black tea. Milk and sugar can be added as desired along with other spices.
What is Chai:
Tea has aquired many names in many languages of the world. Chai is a word used for tea mainly in India. The word is derived from the Chinese word for tea: Cha.
What is Masala Chai?
Masala in India means spice and tea preparation with spices is referred to as masala chai. Masala is traditionally a family recipe with the main ingredients being cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, black pepper, lemongrass and mint. Do try our which is prepared from our family recipe and available either in medium or zesty.