July 7: If "Barack" is missing "Narendra" as well as a hot cuppa, a record-breaking reminder is being packed for the US.
Halmari tea estate in Assam's Dibrugarh district has set the tea industry aflutter after a batch of CTC tea produced by the garden established a record at the Calcutta tea auction today by fetching a price of Rs 426 a kilogram.
The previous record in the overall CTC category was held by Mangalam tea estate located in Assam's Sibsagar. A batch of CTC tea it produced had realised a price of Rs 405 a kg at the Calcutta Tea Auction Centre in 2013. But the Mangalam batch was broken orange pekoe clonal (from the buds).
The grade sold by Halmari is broken orange pekoe (BOP). Matched BOP to BOP, Halmari now has broken its own record set last year when the tea fetched Rs 402 a kg at the Guwahati auction centre.
CTC is an acronym for crush, tear and curl - a method used to process green tea leaves. When brewed, the tea produces a rich red-brown or strong black colour and tastes fairly bitter. In India, this variety is produced mostly in Assam.
If Darjeeling tea has its set of connoisseurs, CTC is mass-driven. Last year, the total tea production in the country stood at 1,207 million kg, and CTC teas accounted for almost 70 per cent of the output. India is the world's largest consumer of CTC tea with the domestic market accounting for 911 million kg in 2013-14.
Tea industry sources said Star Tea Company, a Calcutta-based tea trading firm, had bought 513kg of the CTC tea on behalf of Golden Tea House in Guwahati.
The tea is meant for export to the US - well within the reach of Barack Obama who was treated to tea and several sound bites of "Barack" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January. Obama returned the compliment a few months later, writing about "Narendra and I" in a magazine.
The Halmari tea, which was produced in the first week of June, was sold by J. Thomas and Company, the largest tea brokerage in the world.
"This all-time record price is indicative of the tea-buying community's appreciation for Halmari's focus on quality over several decades," said Krishan Katyal, the chairman and managing director of J. Thomas and Company. "It's a marathon runner."
"This is an exceptional tea despite the climate not being conducive this year," Manash Chakraborty of Golden Tea House said.
The 374-hectare garden, located 28km from Dibrugarh town and 430km from Guwahati, boasts a rich loamy soil suited to produce quality teas and has already made a name for itself the world over.
"Our USP is consistency," said Amit Daga, the managing director of Calcutta-based Amarawati Tea Company Ltd, which owns Halmari. "I am deeply satisfied with the entire auction system and thank the buyers for setting a record."
Katyal said Halmari garden has become an aspirational model for other gardens.
Competition agreed and paid a compliment. Indranil Sharma, who owns Sotai tea estate in Jorhat district, which has been giving a tough fight to Halmari, admitted: "They are definitely our inspiration. There is a lot to learn from Halmari. I wished Daga in the morning as soon as I heard the prices."
Daga said ordinary teas were not selling well this year but the demand for quality teas has been unusually strong in the past month for CTC teas priced above Rs 200 per kg. "There's a general shift in taste and the consumers today want a better product."
The total acreage under tea cultivation in the country was put at 563,000 hectares in December 2013. Assam produces most of the teas in India followed by Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
