If you have craved the flavour and aroma in a cup of Makaibari tea from Darjeeling, then there’s some good news for you. Makaibari Tea Estate has opened its first store in the city — inside the tram stationed at City Centre Salt Lake — from where you can pick up your pack of tea.

“Makaibari has been a huge name, particularly in this part of the world. It’s a tea lover’s delight. It’s a household name specially among Bengalis. So we wanted to bring people closer to Makaibari. Depending on how this store fares, we will open a couple of more stores in the city before targeting the districts and then other parts of the country,” said Soumitra Roy, head, marketing and sales, Luxmi Tea Company, which owns Makaibari Tea & Trading.
t2 checked out the Heritage Makaibari Store and stopped by for some tea tales.

There couldn’t have been a better location for the store than the heritage tram, a familiar sight at City Centre Salt Lake. The Heritage Makaibari Store is housed inside.

The interiors of the store (read: tram) has been done up with wood and wears an old-world charm. Bringing in the local flavour here is the team of three from Makaibari — Bhumika Rai, Dipankar Lama and Santoki Subba — who belong to local families who have been employed in the tea estate for generations. “We are proud to represent the place where the tea comes from. Having grown up in the tea gardens, we are familiar with the whole process,” said Santoki, 25.

First Flush, often the most favourite among tea lovers, is usually the most expensive leaf as well. Harvested between mid-March and May, the first harvest is lighter, has a floral aroma and is generally regarded as the “champagne of teas”. Other varieties at the store include Second Flush, Silver Tips Imperial, Darjeeling Peony White Tea and Green Tea.

We loved this corner at the store. How cute are these tea containers!

There’s a gift hamper worth Rs 3,800, which includes the “very special” Silver Tips Imperial — “plucked on a full moon night” to keep the aroma intact. The Silver Tips Imperial (Darjeeling Full Moon Oolong tea) is priced Rs 1,500 for 50g.

SIP STORY

• Established in 1859, Makaibari Tea Estate claims to be the “world’s first tea factory”, founded by G.C. Banerjee. He belonged to a zamindar family from Borai, about 100km from Calcutta.
• It is the only tea estate in Darjeeling that wasn’t owned by the British.
• It is the first tea garden to be certified “organic” in 1988. It is situated at an elevation of 1,500m.
• Makaibari Tea Estate is home to a few species of endangered animals and one part of the estate is still a virgin forest.
• Highest recorded price received at a tea auction is Rs 1,17,771 per kg for Silver Tips Imperial.
• Best ever price bagged for First Flush is Rs 19,363 per kg.
• In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gifted Makaibari’s most expensive tea, Silver Tips Imperial, to Queen Elizabeth II during his visit to England.
• Makaibari tea was the official tea partner at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Text: Nandini Ganguly
Pictures: Pabitra Das