A Brief History of Darjeeling Tea
There are few beverages with quite the same cultural legacy as tea. Consumed worldwide, there are countless regional variations and preparations and, in the West, tea has spawned a vast industry, not least because of its considerable health benefits. Nowadays, a stroll down the aisle of even the humblest English supermarket is likely to present you with an overwhelming variety of teas to choose from — from builder’s cuppas to high-end herbal teas which can set you back as much as £4 for a box which fits snugly in the palm of your hand.
The Champagne of Teas
Little surprise then, that an argument about which tea is best can result in quite the subjective debate — but the exceptional flavour and quality of one tea in particular has always been beyond discussion. Darjeeling tea is and has always been one of the most sought-after teas in the world. Known as the champagne of teas, Darjeeling is distinguished by being the Queen of England’s favourite drink — and its popularity hasn’t waned with the newer generations. The premium-priced leaves have even been reimagined into a triple-award-winning sparkling green tea, Green Lady, which promises drinkers the subtle taste and powerful health benefits of Darjeeling without the heat and hassle of a traditional cuppa.
But what is it about Darjeeling tea which earned it its legacy? To find out, let’s look beyond Darjeeling’s current celebrity status and back to India, 1841.
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The Strange Story of Darjeeling Tea
Not many people know that Darjeeling is actually a region, nestled at the foothills of the Himalayas, which, like Champagne, is the area where leaves must be grown for the tea to be advertised as ‘Darjeeling’. But Darjeeling tea seeds actually originate from Chinese seeds, which were brought to Darjeeling by English traders hundreds of years ago.
In the 1800s, British consumption of tea was at an all-time high, and the English were leery on relying on China as their sole source of the tea — and so they decided to experiment with growing the product themselves. As it so happened, the superintendent of the Darjeeling district, Dr. Campbell, was a keen horticulturist himself — and so he planted seeds which were smuggled from China in 1841, for the first time.
The tea bushes flourished, with the cool, sheltered climate of the Himalayas proving perfect for growing tea, and it wasn’t long before tea planters from all over England arrived, hoping to make their fortune growing the uniquely delicious tea. With the help of insider information from the expert locals, the Darjeeling tea trade was born, with thousands of Nepalese workers being brought in to start a new life, tending the plantations. The Chinese stranglehold on the British tea trade was loosened and a new cultural legacy was born.
There are now almost 90 operational tea estates in Darjeeling, and 72 tea processing factories, with 40,000 tons of Darjeeling tea being sold worldwide per year. This is despite production of Darjeeling reaching just 10,000 tons a year, which helps to make Darjeeling teas one of the most sought-after beverages on the planet. Delicate, subtle, refreshing and packed with antioxidants, Darjeeling tea is truly an exceptional drink — so next time you’re sipping on a cuppa, raise your glass to Dr. Campbell and the thousands of Nepalese temporary workers who helped to bring Darjeeling to the UK. We’ve much to thank them for!
