Guwahati: Tea is one of the most prevalent and popular drink in India and it’s no surprise as the nation produces and savours more tea than anywhere else in the world.
For the ones that love the Tea or popularly known as Chai, it is not just a drink; it is the national drink of our country. It is a culture that has discovered its roots in the Indian way of living and working in an extremely diverse and unique way and has turned into an indistinguishable part of the same.
Assam has the largest number of tea gardens in India. There are 765 tea estates and somewhere in the range of 100000 small tea gardens which out and out produce around 570 million Kg of tea every year which is more than 50 % of total production in India and 13 % delivered universally.
On Tuesday, Manohari Gold tea from Manohari Tea Estate,Dibrugarh fetched a whooping price of Rs. 50,000 a kg at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC). Manohari Gold is not prepared by tea leaves but from small buds. The unique process that yields this finest variety has been perfected by Manohari Tea Estate in the past five years. This was the highest price till date by any tea sold in any auction centre in India. Last year, the Manohari Gold Tea had managed a price of Rs 39,001 a kilo in the auction.
Interestingly this highest price record was broken within the next 24 hours.
The Guwahati Tea auction Centre (GTAC) witnessed another record on Wednesday. Maijan Golden Tips Tea from Dibrugarh’s Maijan Tea Estate created history by fetching a record-breaking price of Rs 70, 501 per Kg. Maijan Golden Tea is entirely hand-made and no machines were used during the manufacturing process. The Maijan Tea Estate made only two kilograms of the Gold tips tea this year and sold at a record-breaking price.
With new records being set and broken in the tea auctions held in Guwahati Tea Auction Centre, the demand for the Gold tea made in Assam tea gardens have come to light.
In 2018, the Golden Needles tea variety from the Donyi Polo Tea Estate in Arunachal Pradesh created a record by fetching a price of Rs 40,000 per kilo at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre. Back in November 2018 Golden Needles fetched price Rs 18,801 a kg at the GTAC. It was a comeback moment for Golden Needles.
Million Dollar Tea
It is hard to imagine that tea leaves can be worth a million dollars. But, the most expensive tea in the world is Da-Hong Pao Tea leaves. A kilo of Da-Hong Pao Tea leaves is valued at $1.2 million. It has been declared a national treasure by the Chinese government.
Apart from Da-Hong Pao Tea leaves tea like Panda Dung Tea, Yellow Gold Tea Buds, Tieguanyin Tea etc also holds their position strong in the world tea market and are the most expensive available globally.
