Assam tea in record breaking spree, now sold at 70k/kg

Sumir Karmakar, DHNS, GUWAHATI,

Jul 31 2019, 20:18 ist
updated: Jul 31 2019, 20:43 ist

The malty golden tea produced by gardens in Assam seems to be on price record-breaking spree this season. Maijan orthodox golden tea produced by Maijan Tea Estate in eastern Assam's Dibrugarh district of Assam Company India Limited (ACIL), world's oldest tea company was sold on Wednesday at the record price of Rs. 70, 501 per kg at Guwahati Tea Auction Centre here. The new record was set within 24-hours of another golden tea produced by Manohari tea estate fetched Rs. 50,000 a kg.

"The tea produced during the second flush (May-June) are artisanal produce, this rare and specially handcrafted tea is from select clonal variety tea plants. Rich in aroma and briskness, Maijan golden tips tea offers a unique and exotic experience. Unique liquor character of the tea comes from the original tea plants planted over a century ago. It is a moment of pride not only for the entire company but also for the entire tea fraternity," the company said in a statement.

The ACIL, set up in 1839 was taken over in 2018 by Abu Dhabi-based BRS Ventures led by BR Shetty. The golden tea is made from buds, plucked early morning between May and June, which is the second flush season.

Last year, a kilogram of Manohari Gold Tea was sold for Rs 39,001, a record which was soon broken by Golden Needle variety from the Donyi Polo Tea Estate in Arunachal Pradesh which fetched Rs 40,000 per kg.

With more than 800 big tea gardens, Assam produces over 52% tea in the country. But the Assam tea industry is going through a tough phase due to the rising cost of production, low demand and low price in the market. So many gardens are now going for speciality tea to compete with Darjeeling, Nilgiri and Chinese tea in the market.

"The record price shows that buyers are crazy to buy good quality tea at any price. We now hope that more producers will make such type of tea and make India one of the best quality tea producing country which lost its image in the recent times," Dinesh Bihani, secretary of Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers Association, told DH.

Mundhra tea company based here purchased the tea, which will be shared between Steven Plaizier from Belgium and Namha, an online tea store based in Guwahati.