Darjeeling is a town in India's West Bengal state, located in the Himalayan foothills at an elevation of 6,700 ft (2,042.2 m). It is famed for its tea and the “Toy Train” a UNESCO Heritage Site. It is one of the few hill stations that are connected with the plains with a steam locomotive. The town is set against the backdrop of the snow-capped southern Himalayan mountains. Mt. Kanchenjunga happens to be the third highest mountain in the world.
Darjeeling is globally famous for the tea it produces, it is one of the oldest and most celebrated tea growing regions of the world. Darjeeling tea is internationally recognized and ranks among the most popular of the black teas. It is globally recognized as the ‘Champagne’ of teas. The region is blessed with a year -long cold climate, fresh mountain air, pine trees and natural flora and fauna which is not found elsewhere. The resultant is, Darjeeling produces some of the most prized aromatic teas.
Harvest seasons in Darjeeling are distributed over a span of nine months with three major tea flushes (spring, summer, and autumn) and two minor ‘in-between’ flushes. Every flush produces unique varieties of tea, and no two flushes produce the same kind. The famous Darjeeling ‘muscatel tea’ is one such kind. No other part of the world is known to produce this variety of tea.
Popular Tea Estates in Darjeeling
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Thurbo Tea Estate |
Avongrove Tea Estate |
Badamtam Tea Estate |
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Castleton Tea Estate |
Runglee Rungliot Tea Estate |
Giddapahar Tea Estate |
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Margarets Hope Tea Estate |
Goomtee Tea Estate |
Gopaldhara Tea Estate |
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Jungpana Tea Estate |
Singbulli Tea Estate |
Longview Tea Estate |
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Barnesbeg Tea Estate |
Makaibari Tea Estate |
Glenburn Tea Estate |
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Marybong Tea Estate |
Mission Hill Tea Estate |
Namring Tea Estate |
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Puttabong Tea Estate |
Poobong Tea Estate |
Rohini Tea Estate |
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Highland Tea Estate |
Selimbong Tea Estate |
Giddhapahar Tea Estate |
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Sungma Tea Estate |
Namring Upper Tea Estate |
Arya Tea Estate |
Tea grades produced in Darjeeling
Whole leaf, broken leaf, fanning, and dust – Darjeeling produces just about every grade of black tea and other types of teas, too. Common grades associated with Darjeeling tea include:
Whole leaf
SFTGFOP: Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe
SFTGFOP1: Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe One
FTGFOP: Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe
FTGFOP1: Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe One
TGFOP: Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe
TGFOP1: Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe One
GFOP: Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe One
Broken leaf
FTGBOP: Fine Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe
TGBOP: Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe
FBOP: Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe
BOP: Broken Orange Pekoe
Fannings and Dust
GFOF: Golden Flowery Orange Fannings
GOF: Golden Orange Fannings