Special hand-made malty Assam tea fetches record price of Rs 75,000/kg

A bright yellowish malty special tea plucked only during dawn in Manohari tea estate provided a little happiness to the pandemic-hit Assam tea industry after one kg of the tea was sold at Rs. 75,000 in the auction on Thursday.

Rajan Lohia, director of Manohari Tea Estate in eastern Assam's Dibrugarh district told DH that this year, 2.5-kgs tea was produced, out of which 1.2-kg was sold in an auction on Thursday. "The remaining tea will be available at select outlets including Guwahati Tea Auction Centre lounge as demand for one of the rarest teas in the world continues to grow," he said.

The tea was sold by Contemporary Brokers Private Limited and purchased by Vishnu Tea Company, Guwahati. They will sell the tea across the world on their e-commerce website 9amtea.com.

So what is special about this tea? Lohia said this tea is manufactured from the finest second flush colonel tea buds, which are hand plucked only during the dawn. "They are plucked only during dawn to avoid exposure to sunlight. It offers aromatic, full-bodied and bright yellowish malty liquor," he said.

Secretary of Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers' Association, Dinesh Bihani called it a hope amid the global pandemic and its impact on the Assam tea industry. "When the entire world is affected, Manohari Tea Estate has made extra effort to produce this speciality tea in September and sent the same to GTAC for sale. This will definitely offer a positive vibe to the tea industry," he said.

The anti-CAA agitation in December-January, lockdown for Covid-19 and floods this Monsoon had a serious impact on Assam tea with the industry bodies pegging the loss to more than Rs. 1,000 crore so far.

Although this was the highest tea price recorded this year, the golden butterfly tea produced in Dikom Tea Estate in upper Assam was also sold at Rs. 75,000 per kg in August last year. In 2018, Manohari gold tea was sold at Rs. 39,001 and later at Rs. 50,000 per kg too in the auction.