The fading mystique of Darjeeling tea

IT’S bad news for the connoisseurs of tea that the famed Darjeeling tea is losing its vintage aroma. The main reason is that the tea plants are very old and continuous pruning has chipped away at the exclusive flavour. Also, the spells of drizzle on the slopes have become few and far between. The finest tea requires ‘flake drizzles’ (jheensi in Hindi). Darjeeling is renowned all over the world for its fine tea, which is like ambrosia on a lazy winter morning, with a mist enveloping the hills and slopes.

Tea plantation was introduced in India by the English in the 19th century. They nurtured the tea plants in a manner that these could last for at least a century, according to the Gazette of Indian and Ceylonese Tea (1941). Whether it’s the legendary Makaibari or Castleton in Darjeeling, the tea plants are well over 100 years old.

The common tea, consisting of dried and powdered leaves, milk and sugar, was an English tea planter’s chance discovery. That unnamed person came to Darjeeling from Duliajan in Assam to inspect the saplings. There, he used yak milk instead of cow, buffalo or goat milk. To this decoction, he added wild honey brought from the foothills. He never knew that his concoction would become so famous that British playwright Tom Stoppard would write: ‘Who doesn’t drink tea/Is never on a winning spree.’ Tom did his schooling at Mount Hermon School in Darjeeling.

People of South-East Asia consider tea as a beverage descended from heaven. Hollywood actress Vivien Leigh apparently never relished any beverage except Darjeeling tea. She was born in Darjeeling and, along with co-star Clark Gable, would keep drinking cups of Darjeeling tea during the shooting of Gone with the Wind (1939). Bombay-born Hollywood star Merle Oberon, who lived at Dacres Lane, Esplanade (Calcutta), could never forget her cup of Darjeeling tea. Those who have travelled on Darjeeling’s heritage toy train fondly remember the raw aroma emanating from the tea estates as the train meanders towards its destination. ‘Mere sapnon ki rani…’, that famous song from Rajesh Khanna-Sharmila Tagore starrer Aradhana (1969), evokes everlasting memories of tea estates and the toy train.

It is believed that tea, especially the Darjeeling one, can ward off some types of cancer, mainly of the cervix and prostrate in women and men, respectively. Doctors at Marsden Cancer Research Hospital, England, have found an element in it that can stop the indiscriminate growth of cancer cells. Therefore, it’s a pity that this internationally acclaimed brand is losing its mystique and mojo, and few measures are being taken by the government to stem the rot. The next time you have your regular cuppa, spare a thought for the Darjeeling variety.