Calcutta, Aug. 14: Goodricke Group's "moonlight" tea plucked from its Castleton estate in Darjeeling has fetched the best price for any white tea at the public auction in Calcutta this year at Rs 6,750 per kg.

Spictex International, a Delhi-based exporter, bought 36 kg of white tea primarily for the European markets. "The tea was one of a kind. It had a fruity aroma and sweet long lasting taste of orange blossom and lily. The leaves had a mild colour and a striking appearance like none other. Hence, I think the tea is one of the best teas this year and deserves the appreciation," an official of Spictex International said, adding that there is some demand for the variety in the domestic market as well.

"There is hardly any market for speciality teas such as 'white tea' in the country. However, some of the best hotels and restaurants are now showing a hint of interest for this tea," a leading tea taster said.

In 2015, the total production of Castleton estate was around 1 lakh kg, of which only 477 kg was "moonlight" tea.

"A certain area of the garden has been earmarked for the 'moonlight' tea and the white tea that we sold is a prime first flush one," Binode Gurung, senior manager (marketing) at Goodricke Group Ltd, told The Telegraph.

The "white tea" genre from Castleton has broken the record of a variety made at the Thurbo garden in Darjeeling. A total of 36.3 kg was sold to Parkwood Farms Pvt Ltd at Rs 5,700 a kg in 2013. The Thurbo estate also belongs to the Goodricke group. Both teas were sold by J Thomas and Company, the largest auctioneer in the world.

"We made a total of 1,900 kg of white tea from the Darjeeling gardens last year of the total 0.77 million kg," Gurung said.

According to experts, white tea was earlier produced from the first flush buds grown only in China, but is now manufactured in several other countries, including India.

The term "white" is used because of the silver-coloured bud and the colour of the beverage is pale golden.