Guwahati: Assam tea got its best price for first flush on Tuesday when Halmari tea from Dibrugarh district fetched Rs 469 in the Calcutta auctions.

The previous best price for Assam first flush, also bagged by Halmari, was Rs 422 set at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre.

Halmari garden fetched Rs 469 and Rs 441 for its CTC variety tea of grade broken orange pekoe (BOP) in two different invoices at sale 16 at the auctions.

Calcutta-based Star Tea Company bought 125.80 kg of Rs 469 tea while Shiv Tea Company, also based in Calcutta, bought 151.80 kg of Rs 441 tea. The tea, plucked during the third week of March, will be sold in the country.

BOP is a little bolder grade, which allows consumers to perceive the aroma and flavour to its fullest. It also provides a unique and very balanced combination of flavour and strength.

A majority of Halmari's produce is CTC tea and it has fetched the best prices in the auctions till date, both in the first and second flush.

"We get every part perfect, right from plucking to manufacturing, and not worry about quantity. Quality is our only buzzword," Soham Daga of Calcutta-based Amarawati Tea Company Ltd, which owns Halmari tea estate, said.

A garden official said Assam first flush is a little more mellow than the second flush and has a "unique" flavour.

Assam tea is generally known for the second flush, which comes in May-June and is characterised by its boldness and robustness and is topped with classic flavours of malt and woody astringency.

Rabi Dey of Star Tea Company said Halmari garden was known for maintaining quality throughout the year. "The tea which we bought has all the characteristics of a good first flush with a wonderful flavour. This tea will be sold locally," he added.