In Darjeeling, October marks the start of the autumn tea harvest. Once the Diwali and Dussehra festivals are over, the workers start plucking the leaves, of which there are now too many after the holidays. A week later, they carry out a more delicate plucking which will serve to produce a high quality tea.
Here, with Abishek Dev, grower at the Teesta Valley Tea Estate, I am tasting the very first teas of the season.