Best Tea and Honey The Mountain Town of Darjeeling
Darjeeling from the spring harvest brews this golden liquor
In the Lower Himalaya mountains there is a town called Darjeeling, which today produces a tremendous supply of supremely spicy and rich black teas to the world. Darjeeling was a simple village until the British arrived in the 1830′s, when they built a depot there. A Dr. Charles Campbell also arrived, bringing with him a supply of seeds from the small-leafed variety of the tea tree (many Chinese sources consider this a theft on par with the Brinks Robbery!). An inverterate tea lover, he realized that the high altitude and rich soil of the area would be perfect for tea plants. At his direction, the plant was cultivated and these tea trees produced a brew of unique flavor and spiciness, called “muscatel” in the industry. Today, the tea plantations (or gardens) of Darjeeling produce over 10,000 tons of black tea annually (growers have recently begun to work more with green and white teas). Much as champagne is rigidly protected by the government of France, these are carefully labeled by the Tea Board of India, so look for a certification on the packaging and accept no substitutes!