Darjeeling tea: now savour the flavour of Gorkhaland

The best-known teas of India are acquiring a political flavour. When aficionados of tea from the gardens of Makaibari, Castleton or Orange Vallee sip their morning cuppa after March 7, the flavour will be the same, but the branding may change - from 'Darjeeling' to 'Gorkhaland'.

This is the demand being made by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which is agitating for a separate Gorkhaland state carved out of the hills in northern West Bengal.

'The packs should carry the line 'Darjeeling Tea - The Flavour of Gorkhaland',' GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told IANS.

'Our people are talking to tea garden owners and it will be labelled differently from March 7,' Giri asserted.

Darjeeling, often referred to as The Queen of the Hills, boasts of around 87 tea estates spread across 16,000 hectares with an approximate workforce of 150,000, he said.

Darjeeling accounts for seven percent of India's tea exports, with the region churning out about 10 million kilograms of high-quality brews.

'Around 10-11 million kilograms of Darjeeling tea is produced every year, out of which six to seven million kilograms is exported,' S. Patra, joint secretary of tea garden owners' body Indian Tea Association, told IANS. MORE...