In Darjeeling, some very experienced planters supervise a number of plantations. This is the case with Anil Jha, for example, or Gopal Somani, pictured here in the company of Rajesh Pareek, Manager of Puttabong Tea Estate and Ravi Jakhmola, Manager of North Tukvar Tea Estate.
Gopal fulfils this role of mentor brilliantly.
People talk a lot about how China is modernising, and it’s true that the country has developed at an incredible rate over the past 30 years. Nonetheless, nothing delights me more than to travel around China’s countryside and small towns. Taking a detour down a cobbled backstreet, I came across some villagers. They sit on their doorstep, a bowl of noodles in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other, and chat away for hours. This is the more gently-paced side of China.
Some South African farmers have just sent me this photo taken last month during the rooibos harvest. I’m in the middle, and the temperature was close to 40 degrees. The working conditions aren’t easy in this region, which is so arid in the summer that almost the only things that grow are stones and sand.
When, in the evening, I drink a cup of this infusion that is completely free of caffeine and theine, I think of them and the joy it gave me to discover such wonderful landscapes and people.
International Women’s Day is an excellent opportunity for me to pay tribute to all women working in the tea industry. From harvesting to processing, from packaging to quality control, tea involves a great deal of work. Many women manage work alongside family life, like the indefatigable Mrs Zhou.
Some time in the next two weeks I should receive the first of a large number of samples from Darjeeling. During the first few days I get just a handful, but as the month goes by, the harvesting intensifies. In March and April, I sometimes taste more than 100 teas in a single day.
This picture is of a plucker who has not yet slung her basket on her back. Like me, she is impatient for the season to start.
This tea seller I met at Heho market keeps very busy. The whole time I was sitting beside her, customers were constantly coming and going, and she couldn’t even spare a couple of minutes to gulp down the bowl of noodles placed to one side.
She mainly sells a black tea which her customers then roast in a pan before drinking it.
This is typical of Myanmar tea: you roast your own tea at home to give it what they call the “taste of fire”. Sometimes toasted sesame seeds are added.
On the tea plantations, the midday meal is a proper break.
Here, in Darjeeling, everyone gets their food out from their bag and sits down to eat, outdoors and in good spirits. The recycled cola bottles contain… tea!
This charming Nepalese tea plucker is setting off with her basket to harvest the young shoots of the tea bushes.
She reminds me of you all who, at this festive time of year, are out looking for things that will make your loved-ones happy.
A tasting session at the Manjhee Valley Tea Estate in the company of its manager, Chettaranjan Rai. The Manjhee Valley Tea Estate is in Dharamsala and produces some of the best teas in the region.
Before this, Chettaranjan worked for more than 10 years on tea plantations in Darjeeling, and is extremely experienced. Here, he is watching me closely, waiting to see what I think of his production.
Among the most experienced planters in Darjeeling, JD Rai is one of the best. I got to know him when he was in charge of the Margaret’s Hope estate.
This year I was delighted to see him again at the Thurbo plantation where he is now in charge. JD Rai is making some excellent teas there.
His expertise reaches beyond his own tea estate as he also supervises work on four or five other gardens.
And, unlike most planters in Darjeeling who come from the plains, JD Rai is from Darjeeling. He’s at home here.
