By Khagendramani
Pradhan*
Amidst the backdrop of picturesque and mighty Mt. Khanchan
Dzonga refreshed by the gentle breeze of river Teesta brews the morning sip of
Sikkim – the Temi tea. Spread over 180 hectares of gentle slope with altitude
ranging from 4500 to 6316 feet, the Temi tea garden produces one of the finest
orthodox tea that promises the appreciation of tea connoisseur.
The Temi Tea estate was established in 1969 during the
erstwhile regime of Chogyal and the commercial production started in the year
1977. In the year 1974 Tea board was formed to govern the day to day
functioning of the estate and later it went on to become the subsidiary of
Industries Department under Sikkim government.
Temi Tea which apart from providing direct employment to over four
hundred labors and thirty personnel, also is a major employer in the Government
sector.
The gentle slopes that originate from the Tendong hill range
has loamy soils condition with slope of 30–50% that suits best for tea
plantation and produces nearly 100 tons of tea annually. Although the quantity
of produce may seem insignificant in terms of major tea producing estates, the
quality and the flavor it produces has been able to win the heart of tea
aficionados within India and the world.
The tea produced by the Temi Tea estate is packaged under
many brand names like "Temi Tea" which is of the best quality
consisting of pure tea golden flowery orange pekoe. The next in quality is the
popular brand of 'Sikkim Solja' followed by 'Mystique' and 'Kanchanjunga Tea'.
It is also sold in the form of 'Orthodox dust tea'. While nearly 70 percent of
the produce is sold in public auction at Kolkata through its authorized broker,
the rest is converted into retail packets and sold in the local market.
The geographical location and the young plantation
supplemented by organic method of production have further added to the value
and flavor of tea leaves produced from this estate. Temi Tea garden closely
followed the guidelines issued by IMO, Switzerland and with the completion of
observation period, Temi Tea Estate was certified 100 percent organic by IMO
India, a member group of IMO Switzerland in 2008. In addition, it is also a
HACCP certified estate as per ISO -22000 standard under Food Safety Management
System ensuring finest of quality product reaching the market. It may be noted
that Temi tea garden is also the recipient of All India Quality
Award from Tea Board
of India for
the two consecutive years.
The conversion of entire production process from
conventional to organic with inputs like bio-fertilizers and pesticides like
vermin-compost manure, neem cakes and castor cakes, have not only opened bigger
market in international market, but has also seen a surge in demand amongst the
tourist visiting Sikkim. Nearly one hundred acres of forest land at its
disposal amply supplies the bio-mass to the estate making it self-reliant for
required inputs.
By abandoning the use of agro-chemical and adopting organic
means of production, the Temi tea estate has not only curtailed the cost of
production, but also has opened wider arena of market preferring organic
produce free from harmful chemicals. The Temi Tea board boasts of coming to
breakeven point and substantially contributing to the State exchequer.
While Germany, United Kingdom, America and Japan constitute
the major buyer, efforts are on way to further diversify the product in view of
growing demand for green teas including redesigning of more attractive packets
for value addition. This apart, efforts are underway to source direct buyers in
foreign market for tea produced in Sikkim. The Tea Board of late has started
directly exporting small quantities of organic tea to Canada and Japan where it
has been fetching comparatively competitive and attractive prices.
Though, the expansion of tea plantation has been thwarted
due to non availability of suitable land, Temi tea estate has been offering
assistance to small scale grower and producers by providing quality planting
materials and other technical knowhow. The garden nursery produces some of the
best clone planting material, which is distributed among the small tea growers’
cooperatives in the state.
Though Temi Tea has lived up to expectation of many tea
connoisseurs, given the climatic condition in the estate, there still is scope
for production of high value and high return finest tea leaves. (PIB Features.)
(*Khagendramani Pradhan is a freelance journalist. Views expressed by him in this article are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of news.BDTV.in)