Nilgiri tea is a drink made by infusing leaves of Camellia sinensis that is grown and processed in the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu, India. The leaves are processed as black tea, though some estates have expanded their product offerings to include leaves suitable for making green, white and oolong teas. It is generally described as being a brisk, fragrant and full-bodied tea. The region produces both rolled and crush, tear, curl tea and it is predominantly used for blending. Nilgiri tea is also used for making iced tea and instant tea.
Camellia sinensis var. sinensis was introduced to Nilgiri Mountains by the British in 1835 from seeds shipped from China. Commercial production commenced in the 1860s, where the industry would evolve to include a mixture of many small growers with a few large corporate estates and the government-owned Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation established for the purpose of assisting in repatriating Indian Tamils from Sri Lanka. Its fertile soils located on well-drained slopes with geography that brings two monsoons per year with periods of fog and humid, cold weather, allow the sinensis variety to thrive. The tea is of sufficient quality and uniqueness to warrant being a registered geographical indication.
History
Camellia sinensis was first planted in the Nilgiri area in 1835. The British had been using the area as a hill station and, as they had been seeking to create a source of tea outside of China, shipped seeds there, as well as various locations across southern India, for experimental plantings. Botanist George Samuel Perrottet planted the seeds in the governor's garden in Ketti. Though they were not well-cared for, they did survive to be later propagated. The Thiashola estate, established in 1859, More processing factories were built and cooperative agreements, such as Indcoserve, were made to accommodate small holders. Of the small farm growers, the majority belong to the Badagas community. A crop diversification program initiated in the 1980s by the UPASI and the Tea Board saw many small holders move into the tea industry, resulting in nearly doubling the amount of land under tea cultivation by 2000. As the economies of the Soviet countries began to waver later in the 1980s, the Nilgiri Planters' Association led efforts to encourage estates and small growers to reform cultivation and processing practices to accommodate the preferences of the Western market. The Nilgiri Mountains form the border between the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, but are predominantly within the District of Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu. Located within the Western Ghats mountain range and the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, the Nilgiri tea growing areas range between 1,000 and 2,500 metres in elevation and are exposed to the Southwest Monsoon weather from the Malabar Coast from June to September, followed by the Northeast Monsoon in October to November. The resulting alternating periods of fog and direct sunlight, as well as the South Western Ghats montane rain forests soils, described as lateritic loam, on the hillsides provides the high elevation drainage and conditions needed for Camellia sinensis var. sinensis to thrive.
thumb|In an estate near Doddabetta
Cultivation of tea in the Nilgiri region is conducted on few large corporate holdings, many small farms and the government-owned Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation. The small holders, typically under 1 hectare, vary widely in their practices, such as soil management, use of shade trees, ground cover, fertilizers and pesticides, plant age, etc. However, common to the region, plucking can occur approximately every 10 days almost all year round, typically 32 annual pluckings per plant. As opposed to the assamica variety, the sinensis variety requires a period of dormancy; in Nilgiris there is a short dormancy period during the cold temperatures of December–January. The first leaves after the dormancy are some of the plant's most flavourful as they contain a higher concentration of defensive compounds secreted during the cold weather. This first harvest, plucked from January to March, is referred to as "frost tea" since it is collected in relatively cold but humid weather. The processed leaves ("made tea"), that are not otherwise purchased on a contract basis, are sold at tea auctions in Coonoor, Coimbatore and Kochi. These factories predominantly produce black tea, but some also produce limited quantities of specialty white, green and oolong teas. Of the black tea produced, most use the crush, tear, curl (CTC) method though since the 2000s, as Argentina and Vietnam took more CTC market share, orthodox (e.g. rolled) teas have also been produced. Nilgiri tea is variously described as being light but full-bodied or well-rounded in flavour, with fruit, like citrus, and floral notes. Its orthodox tea is compared to Ceylon teas which grow under similar conditions, such as two monsoons. Global commercial brands, such as Nestea, utilize Nilgiri tea in their iced tea products that use real tea.
See also
- Assam tea
- Darjeeling tea
- Indian Tea Association