KOLKATA: Darjeeling tea, the Champaigne among teas, owes its genesis to an industrial espionage of epic proportions. Planned by the East India Co and executed by a daring Scot, the early 19th century operation gave the world the thin-bodied, light-coloured infusion with a floral aroma that is revered by tea connoisseurs the world over.
Speaking to TOI, British tea expert Malcolm Ferris-Lay said nearly two centuries before the global corporations became wary of espionage by Chinese firms, the British smuggled Camellia Sinensis — a plant whose leaves commanded astronomical prices in England — out of China and into Kolkata. Camellia Sinensis is the Latin name for tea.
"For nearly 200 years, the East India Co sold opium (derived from Papaver Soniferum) to China and bought tea with the proceeds. In 1664, the East India Co shipped the first 100 pounds of tea from China via Java in vessels called the India Men. A round trip for this vessel took two years, promoting England to later switch to the American vessel Clipper that brought down the transport time to 104 days," he narrated.
In the 1680s, a pound (454 gm) of tea used to cost £6. In present day exchange rate, that would be shelling out £1,068 for a pound of tea. A century-and-a-half later, nearly £1 in every £10 that went into British coffers was through sale and import of tea. It was around this time in May 1848 that Robert Fortune (born in Eldrom village in Berwickshire, Scotland) was approached by East India Co to collect valuable information on tea industry in China.
"Fortune learned Mandarin, shaved his head, adopted a pigtail as worn by Manchus, dressed in local clothes and disguised himself as a Chinese from a distant province. He sneaked into remote areas of Fujian and Jiangsu province, forbidden parts of China. Fortune managed to collect 20,000 plants and seedlings and had then transported it to Kolkata in Wardian cases, small greenhouses which kept the plants healthy due to condensation within the case," Ferris-Lay explained.
These seedlings were planted in Darjeeling and grew into bushes that over the time produced the unique tea. "Many of the teas that Fortune brought back perished. But the knowledge that he brought back from China together with plants were instrumental in what is today a huge flourishing tea industry in India," he said.
Darjeeling tea, says Indian Tea Association secretary general Monojit Dasgupta, is exactly the same as the tea grown in China. "What sets them apart is the manner in which the teas are processed after they are plucked," he said. China produces green tea that is steamed and dried. The greenish and yellowish liquor is light. Darjeeling tea, on the other hand, is fermented and roasting. That gives it a brown-ochre colour and smoky flavour.
The first garden to be set up by the British was Tukvar near Darjeeling town. But it is in Makaibari near Kurseong town that tea from Robert Fortunes' expedition is still believed to be found. Rajah Banerjee, fourth generation owner of the estate that was acquired from the East India Co, said he was trying to not only preserve the tea with its rich legacy and history but also the environment. "My garden is a repository of a functional heritage," he said.
While Ferris-Lay loves to sip Darjeeling tea in the afternoon as do millions of others, youngsters with a suite of beverages at their disposal are taking time warming up to tea. The Tea Board and the Indian Tea Association recognized the decline in tea consumption over a decade ago and designed a series of ads to promote the health benefit of tea.
But to attract the young, Ferris-Lay, who retired as MD of Williamson Tea, says the industry must become less prudent and more open to experiment. "Blend flavours into teas to attract the young. A little cornflower, marigold and jasmine will do teas no harm. After all, drinking tea is also about a sensual experience. As the palate changes as the person matures, so will his or her preference of tea. It is like whisky. One acquires the taste and then graduates to single malt," he added. (TOI)
Speaking to TOI, British tea expert Malcolm Ferris-Lay said nearly two centuries before the global corporations became wary of espionage by Chinese firms, the British smuggled Camellia Sinensis — a plant whose leaves commanded astronomical prices in England — out of China and into Kolkata. Camellia Sinensis is the Latin name for tea.
"For nearly 200 years, the East India Co sold opium (derived from Papaver Soniferum) to China and bought tea with the proceeds. In 1664, the East India Co shipped the first 100 pounds of tea from China via Java in vessels called the India Men. A round trip for this vessel took two years, promoting England to later switch to the American vessel Clipper that brought down the transport time to 104 days," he narrated.
In the 1680s, a pound (454 gm) of tea used to cost £6. In present day exchange rate, that would be shelling out £1,068 for a pound of tea. A century-and-a-half later, nearly £1 in every £10 that went into British coffers was through sale and import of tea. It was around this time in May 1848 that Robert Fortune (born in Eldrom village in Berwickshire, Scotland) was approached by East India Co to collect valuable information on tea industry in China.
"Fortune learned Mandarin, shaved his head, adopted a pigtail as worn by Manchus, dressed in local clothes and disguised himself as a Chinese from a distant province. He sneaked into remote areas of Fujian and Jiangsu province, forbidden parts of China. Fortune managed to collect 20,000 plants and seedlings and had then transported it to Kolkata in Wardian cases, small greenhouses which kept the plants healthy due to condensation within the case," Ferris-Lay explained.
These seedlings were planted in Darjeeling and grew into bushes that over the time produced the unique tea. "Many of the teas that Fortune brought back perished. But the knowledge that he brought back from China together with plants were instrumental in what is today a huge flourishing tea industry in India," he said.
Darjeeling tea, says Indian Tea Association secretary general Monojit Dasgupta, is exactly the same as the tea grown in China. "What sets them apart is the manner in which the teas are processed after they are plucked," he said. China produces green tea that is steamed and dried. The greenish and yellowish liquor is light. Darjeeling tea, on the other hand, is fermented and roasting. That gives it a brown-ochre colour and smoky flavour.
The first garden to be set up by the British was Tukvar near Darjeeling town. But it is in Makaibari near Kurseong town that tea from Robert Fortunes' expedition is still believed to be found. Rajah Banerjee, fourth generation owner of the estate that was acquired from the East India Co, said he was trying to not only preserve the tea with its rich legacy and history but also the environment. "My garden is a repository of a functional heritage," he said.
While Ferris-Lay loves to sip Darjeeling tea in the afternoon as do millions of others, youngsters with a suite of beverages at their disposal are taking time warming up to tea. The Tea Board and the Indian Tea Association recognized the decline in tea consumption over a decade ago and designed a series of ads to promote the health benefit of tea.
But to attract the young, Ferris-Lay, who retired as MD of Williamson Tea, says the industry must become less prudent and more open to experiment. "Blend flavours into teas to attract the young. A little cornflower, marigold and jasmine will do teas no harm. After all, drinking tea is also about a sensual experience. As the palate changes as the person matures, so will his or her preference of tea. It is like whisky. One acquires the taste and then graduates to single malt," he added. (TOI)