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A volume of 1,535 kg of high-value teas from 21 factories will be offered at the ‘Nilgiri Winter Speciality Tea Auction' to be conducted on Saturday by the Nilgiri Planters' Association (NPA), with the Tea Board as its principal sponsor.
These are speciality teas manufactured this winter from bushes selected from about 6,900 hectares owned by NPA members at 6,500 ft above sea level.
The estates are located in the legally registered Geographical Indication region of ‘Nilgiri Orthodox Tea'.
Winter teas
“Every winter, about three lakh kg of speciality teas fetching Rs 500 to Rs 5,000 a kg are manufactured in the Nilgiris. These are ‘self-drinking' teas (with no need to add anything) coming from a single origin. They are delicately fragrant bright teas with intrinsic qualities. They do not cloud but maintain stable vivid colour, perfect for ready-to-drink format. NPA factories have ISO and HACCP certifications. Some select grades are coming up for this auction”, Mr Suresh Jacob, NPA Chairman, told Business Line .
Some highly preferred lesser-known speciality teas coming up for this auction include white tea varieties, twirl and virgin green teas, long ding, silver tips, Oolong, Lung Ching, Long Jink black, organic, young gunpowder, handmade and frost.
Entrants
While Craigmore Plantations will offer the largest volume of 300 kg of a single-grade lot (young gunpowder), Avataa grades of multi-brew teas from Bluegate Beverages are first-time entrants in Indian auctions.
The auction will be conducted at 11 a.m. on the Tea Board e-auction portal at Coonoor Tea Trade Association. Buyers registered with any auction centre in India can participate at their respective locations.
“NPA members run heritage estates with thrust on professional tasting. They contribute significantly to society by operating schools, hospitals and in rural communication. They stick to ‘fair trade' practices even in employment. So, we are telling importing nations that sourcing speciality teas from Nilgiri estates assures them quality teas backed with sound socio-eco-friendly production processes”, said Mr Jacob.
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