Assam's tea city of Dibrugarh is the jewel in the crown of the global tea industry
BY SUBHASISH CHAKRABORTY
Ever imagined how it actually feels to visit a tea estate? How tea is manufactured? The environs surrounding tea estates and gardens? And last but not the least what does a planter’s life entail and the actual ambience of life inside a tea plantation site that the whole world seems to be raving about as the urge to live close to nature and go organic has increased phenomenally.
The fabled land of Assam in India’s colourful and majestic North East, is undoubtedly the world’s largest tea producing region that produces around 400 million kilograms of tea annually; it is a state where approximately 2,16,2000 hectares of land is under tea cultivation. And the jewel in the crown of the $200 billion global tea industry is India’s tea city of Dibrugarh, which is blessed with a mindboggling 177 tea estates.
Today, residing in metropolitan Kolkata, which is separated by a distance of approximately 1,445 km from my paternal ancestor’s house in Dibrugarh, I consider myself fortunate for having been blessed with the privilege of growing up in one of the world’s most outstanding tea cities and fathom the raw, energising, eco-friendly life that the whole world is after.
I had recently gone to Dibrugarh to attend the marriage ceremony of my cousin brother and memories of my childhood days flashed inside me. A lot has changed though – urbanisation in particular and the mushrooming of highrise apartments – but this distinctive Assam town still retains much of its old charm.
It was good to experience tea tourism firsthand from a home grown entity, Purvi Discovery. It is a brand which has carved a niche for itself as one of North East’s best tour operators specialising in tea tourism. Purvi Discovery was the first tourism entity from the North East to convert their numerous Victorian era tea bungalows for discerning world travellers to experience them.
Since I was in Dibrugarh for just a week , I spent all my time at Mancoota and Chowkidinghee Tea Estates, both located within the town. The immersive experience was every bit rejuvenating, especially those horse-riding trips across the tea estate and factory – one great way of recreating the typical colonial planter’s life.
Assam’s tea culture dates back to the 1800’s British era and most tea bungalows epitomise Victorian style architecture – elevated wooden stilts, usually two storied, spacious rooms with exclusive fireplace, bamboo and wooden decor, antique furnishings and large verandas.
From the cosy confines of the bungalow, one can indulge in never-ending cups of the famed Assam tea and relish the slow-paced tea life; the sight of women tea pluckers engaged in plucking two leaves and a bud and once the red molten ball dips across the far horizon, it is time for bonfires and tribal folk musicians to entertain – surreal stuff, ain’t it?
In Assam, the British left behind a rich legacy – the legacy of tea garden life. Since the planters were mostly of British or Scottish descent, they tried to recreate the quintessential British lifestyle here in India and the best specimens of the Raj era are the outstanding tea bungalows – each one has a story to tell. And, there are as many as 765 tea estates in Assam that produces approximately 13 per cent of the world’s tea. That is how amazing the tea tourism scenario in Assam is.
Take, for instance, the Mancotta Tea Estate story. It used to be a British tea estate till 1970 and the last British superintendent was Duncan Hayes. Their tea bungalow is considered to be an iconic one and the ingenuity of the British architect is palpable. The standalone feature is the total absence of iron nails in the wooden floor. I was told by a staff of Mancota that the wooden nails that have been used in flooring were of Chinese origin.
Purvi Discovery has another excellent tea bungalow property located in the heart of Dibrugarh town – The Chowkidinghee Tea Estate. I still remember going on rickshaw every day to Don Bosco school that would pass through the famed Chowkidinghee Tea Estate.
The Chowkidinghee Tea estate has been in existence for a long time and the piece de resistance is the gracious bungalow, which has been catering to discerning visitors with a degree of sophistication which is hard to match. This heritage property, which has withstood the test of time, remains a sentinel of colonial hospitality. Be it the Victorian decor, the fireplace or the intricately done up jaali verandas, you can rest assured of the finest colonial hospitality and a perfect recap to the vestiges of its rich virile past.
What makes Dibrugarh such a tea-friendly place? Well, Dibrugarh’s alluvial soil and of course the tropical weather make it ideal for tea crops to flourish.
Apart from being India’s tea town, Dibrugarh is also one of Assam’s largest urban agglomerations and together with the districts of Tinsukia and Sibsagar produces half of India’s famed Assam tea variety whose trademark features are full bodied taste, strong aroma and its burgundy colour.
After China, it is Assam where some of the finest varieties of tea is produced; and that too in huge quantities. An hour’s drive from Dibrugarh to the world famous Halmari Tea Estate could be a revelation.
Since my childhood, I have been a regular visitor to this awe-inspiring tea estate which is spread over 374 hectares of land and blessed with a century’s old tea legacy.
Halmari tea holds the distinction of being the highest priced Indian tea. The estate produces some of the finest varieties of teas.
Needless to say, you will find Halmari teas in some of the world’s finest hotels and in places like Harrods! I will never forget that first sip of “Halmari 22K Gold Tea” packet gifted to me by my first cousin.
In fact, earning accolades has become a habit with Halmari Estate – the best factory in the world award as well as the proud recipient of Global Tea Championship Award consecutively from 2015 to 2019 speaks volumes about this tea estate’s rendezvous with all things excellent.
As one of Harrods’ best nine garden fresh tea producers, a visit to Halmari is an education in itself – the manner in which the estate maintains the ethos of sustainability, their CSR initiatives as well as their state-of-the-art machineries is exemplary to say the least.
Although tea tourism as a recreational concept is rather immersive not many have opened up their estates to visitors primarily due to paucity of funds. Nonetheless, the tea estates surrounding Dibrugarh have been consistently producing connoisseur category tea for more than a century and continue to lure discerning visitors to come and savour tea holidays in this part of the world, all the while curating tea-centric holidays.
