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NILGIRIS, INDIAScheduled Dates: Flexible Price: $255/day, 4 days. Includes all ground transportation, lodging, food, staffing, and events. Meeting Airport: Coimbatore, India Visa Required: Yes: single-entry available online, multiple-entry requires formal application.
THE ORIGIN: The Nilgiri Mountains are one of the most important tea-producing regions in India. The biodiverse, high-elevation area is ideal for tea, and surprisingly, many of the tea fields are grown from seed (instead of as a homogenous monoculture). Nilgiri tea is famous for its smooth, mild profile.
Like many other regions in India, farmers in the region typically rely on commodity tea. As a result, many people assume that Nilgiri tea is only suitable for tea blends or flavorings. We will spend our time at two small family farms, who have become independent of the commodity tea industry by crafting their own teas.
THE GROWERS:
Teaneer (Vijayalakshmi Natural Farm) in Nilgiri, India Teaneer is the farm of the Nanjan Family. Once a conventional farm, the Nanjan Brothers have converted the farm into an all-natural, biodiverse paradise for tea plants.
The Teaneer team is exceptionally well-educated, composed of college graduates who are paid much higher (and more fairly) than the average tea worker. They practice biodynamic agriculture, a combination of scientific techniques and ancient Indian plant medicine.
Neelamalai Organic Farms in Nilgiri, India The Murali Family is one of our newest partners in tea. They've spent the last 5 years preparing their small farm for quality tea, and have decided to go the sustainable route for their agriculture. They practice Panchagavya, another form of Indian plant medicine. >> Learn more about Neelamalai Organics.
THE EXPERIENCE: In the Nilgiri segment, we can immerse ourselves in the tea farming culture of Southern India, far away from the cities and large estates. This is the perfect adventure for tea lovers who are passionate about ecology, natural agriculture, and land conservation. Explore the various steps of tea processing, from leaf to cup, and learn how different techniques can create different teas. See how different families, even within the same region, can infuse their own personalities and principles into their independent tea farms. Enjoy some of the most unusual Nilgiri teas, such as Teaneer's experimental teas and Neelamalai's high-quality versions of Nilgiri favorites.
Teaneer's Teaneer Yellow.
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