A group of small tea growers from the Darjeeling hills created a record by selling tea for more than ₹4 lakh per kilogram.
The Silver Needle White Imperial Full Moon tea, crafted by Rajah Banerjee, who used to earlier run the Makaibari tea garden in Kurseong, has added a rich flavour to Darjeeling Tea’s marketing tradition.
To start with, the tea that sold for a record-breaking price does not come from an established garden but from a coalition of small growers spread across five villages in Darjeeling. Also, the tea was made from leaves plucked during autumn.
The best Darjeeling Tea is produced during the first flush. Leaves for it are plucked from the start of March to mid-April every year. The first flush traditionally commands the best prices.
“On October 3, a tea aficionado, who is also a tea taster from London, called me and asked if I could come up with a tea that he wanted to pitch at the 2025 World Tea Championship which will be held at Las Vegas in March 2025,” said Banerjee.
The Darjeeling planter reminded the tea taster that it was October and that the best teas would come from leaves plucked during the first flush season.
However, after some days, Banerjee decided to take up the challenge and worked with his team at Rimpocha Tea, which he founded in 2017 after exiting from Makaibari. Rimpocha Tea mentors small tea growers from Chota Poobung, Dow Hill, Bungkulung, Chaitapani and Tumlabong villages spread across Darjeeling hills.
The Silver Needle White Imperial Full Moon Tips tea.
The team decided to pluck tea buds on a full moon night on October 17.
“There was some trepidation as it started to rain right from October 10. However, October 17 was a clear day,” said Banerjee.
On the full moon night, 200 skilled workers from these five villages managed to pluck 50kg of tea buds over a two-hour period from 7pm.
“It is difficult to work under those torch flames,” pointed Banerjee.
However, they managed.
Banerjee’s Rimpocha Tea crafted 10kg of Silver Needle White Imperial Full Moon tea. The tea taster friend in London remarked: “Rajah, it’s a symphony in a cup — what a delightful sonata.”
Banerjee was offered a price of $5,000 for a kilo.
“This, incidentally, is a new world record at $5,000 per kg,” said Banerjee. The previous record price for Darjeeling, crafted by Banerjee, was $3,000.
The Rimpocha team, however, decided to make this exclusive tea available to a wider section of tea lovers and not just the tea taster from London.
The team made a special edition 50gm tea packet priced at $250.
Apart from the London tea taster, who took most of the tea, tea lovers from the US, Japan, Germany and India picked up the special tea.