Embarrassing Tea Chronicle

how a walk down a mountain introduced me to tea-drinking

Having read my earlier post on my growing inclination to tea, you would realise that my recent trip to Darjeeling played a crucial role in changing my opinion on the beverage. My trip to this ‘land of the thunderbolt’ (where Darjeeling gets its name from) took place in February of this year, along with a few friends. The trip itself was a little longer than a weekend getaway with only 2-3 days spent in the city. To make the most of the time we were there, we researched on things we could do there and asked for recommendations from university friends who had been to Darjeeling.

Even before we reached the city, I had my priorities about this trip clearly charted out - sightseeing & gifts. While I was a bit clueless about what gifts to get, this was not the case when it came to what I wanted to see there. Never having visited a tea estate in my life, combined with stories of people walking through these vast estates in Darjeeling pushed this activity to the top of my to-do list. The idea was well accepted, considering that the prospect of visiting a tea estate was just as exciting for my friends.

On the second day of our trip, we visited the Happy Valley Tea Estate. As the estate was located down the mountain, we reached our destination only after a long, and exhilarating (slightly scary) descent from the city situated above. At the estate, we were given a tour around the factory. While the building was mostly empty during the off-season, one could imagine the troves of high-quality tea being dried, processed, and packaged here. At the end of our tour, we were offered different teas to taste. These samples were brewed using tea leaves grown on the estate itself and had distinct colours, aromas, and tastes.

I realised two things from my visit to the tea estate. First, that it was absolutely worth it! Second, I had found what gifts I was going to take back with me from Darjeeling. So as soon we left the estate, I started looking up places that sell authentic Darjeeling tea. I was reminded of the conversation I had with one of my friends who was backpacking through Darjeeling just a week before me. He had recommended tea from a place called Nathmulls. While I had faith in my friend’s recommendation, I was sold when the taxi driver taking us back up the mountain from the tea estate suggested Nathmulls as well!

So that evening itself, me and a friend of mine walked our way past the Darjeeling mall, crossed the city taxi stand, all the way up to Nathmulls. The shop was small but hinted at a rich history, typical of several shops in Darjeeling. While the people working there were very welcoming, the inexperienced tea drinker was intimidated by the variety, options, and different ‘specs’ for the teas on display. However, the lady working at the counter was patient in guiding me through the selection as well as politely declining when I asked her if I could taste the tea (thanks for the faux pas, Happy Valley Tea Estate).

I realised that the mindboggling variety of leaves which were scary at first presented an opportunity to experiment with different leaves and flavours. All in all, it was a wonderful experience full of learning and exploration which eventually culminated into an interest (the loose leaf kind, mind you). I bought 3-4 cakes of loose leaf tea for my friends, family, and myself. However, I brought more than just 3-4 cakes of tea back from Darjeeling.