Guwahati, Sept. 11: Speciality tea from Assam is getting new markets with a leading Darjeeling tea producer buying 21kg of green tea at Rs 5,001 per kg.

The newly-set up green and speciality tea processing unit at Mahalaxmi tea estate in Golaghat sold its very first lot of speciality tea to Ambootia Tea Exports Pvt Ltd. The tea would be exported. The company has 19 gardens, of which 14 are in Darjeeling and the rest in Assam.

This is the first-ever sale of Mahalaxmi tea estate after its exclusive green tea factory was set up. The unit can produce 1 lakh kg per annum. It has produced 27,000kg tea this year.

The tea was tasted, evaluated and negotiated by Parcon (India) Private Limited, one of the largest tea-broking companies of the country. The new factory with brand name Anjali has started production this year.

"We decided to set up an exclusive factory to manufacture green tea because of mismatch in demand and supply for crushed-tear-curl (CTC) teas. We adopt different manufacturing processes to make a wide range of speciality teas and suit the requirement of customers," said Bidyananda Barkakoty, owner of Mahalaxmi tea estate.

Sanjay Bansal, chairman of Ambootia Tea Group, said it has bought 21kg of speciality tea for export and has made an agreement to buy at least 20 per cent of Mahalaxmi tea estate's production.

"We will also provide them guidance from time to time to adopt good agricultural practices (GAPs) and good manufacturing practices (GMPs). This is a unique high-quality Assam tea from very fine tea leaves. It has a very sweet taste with the prominent Assam character. Mahalaxmi tea company has done an excellent job to make this tea. If they continue to produce such teas, we are confident to export a large part of their produce," Bansal added.

"The factory is well-equipped and the cultivars are suitable to manufacture high-quality teas. There is a niche market, even in India, for specially-crafted teas," said Rajiv K. Puri, chairman of Parcon (India) Private Limited.