I mentioned in my last blog that I had recently been in the Nilgiri Hills in Southern India at the invitation of the family who owns two stunningly beautiful plantations there - Thiashola and Daverashola.  (The photo shows us being welcomed at the factory.)  The landscape here is quite different from that of the tea regions of northern India - much smoother contours and less craggy than Darjeeling, much higher and more dramatic than Assam - and I was overwhelmed by the views of soaring mountain peaks, of sweeping valleys where misty clouds swirled far below, by the variety of exotic vegetation in the surrounding forests, and by the nearness of black panthers, tigers, elephants, sloth bears, wild foxes, sambar deer and monkeys. 

The road up from Bangalore takes you through a controlled tiger reserve but sadly, those stripy cats were keeping themselves well hidden.  It was almost dark as we drove slowly through thick forest but we did manage to spot elephants and bison amongst the trees and later in the week, we saw mongoose, wild peacocks, shy black monkeys, cheeky smaller grey monkeys who pulled faces at us and climbed onto the bonnet of the car, herds of beautiful white spotted ‘bambi’ deer and larger sambars with their spreading antler crowns.

Because of the virgin forest, there is no pollution around the tea plantation and Thiashola is a certified organic plantation.  Everywhere you look, the emerald green of the tea mingles with the purple-blue of the blue salvia that grows along the edges of the roads and amongst the tea bushes.  This is just one of the blue flowers that are said to give the Nilgiri Blue Mountains their name.  The most important species is the rare Kurinji flower which blossoms only once every twelve years, but locals also talk of the bluish mists that shroud the mountain peaks, and of the strobilanthes plant which has bluish-purple leaves and pale purple flowers.

The majority of the tea plants at Thiashola, as in Nilgiri generally, are assamicas which have thrived at these altitudes of 7000 feet since the 1850s when Nilgiri was developed as a tea region by the British.  But the plantation also has a special clump of treasured sinensis bushes (the photo below shows one of them) which are said to have been planted from seeds brought here by Chinese prisoners in the late 1850s and 60s during the Opium Wars between Britain and China.    

(When I got home I thought I would see what I could find out about this and so went to the library at SOAS - The School for Oriental and African Studies - in London and found a reference to something Kaku J Tanna wrote on this subject in his 1970s book ‘Plantations in the Nilgiris’: “Chinese prisoners were brought from China in 1859 and 1869 and jailed at the Nilgiris in two camps, one at Naduvattam, and one in the Thiashola Reserve Forest.  There is a local legend that the Chinese prisoners gave instructions to the planters in the cultivation of tea and its manufacture.”)  The photo below shows the place in the forest that is said to be where the prison stood.

My companion at Thiashola was Tim d’Offay of Postcard Teas in London and he suggested that we should pick a small quantity of leaves from the 150 year old Chinese bushes and a similar quantity from the assamica bushes and try making some green tea from both varieties to see how they compare.  So we gathered a small bagful of tiny Chinese buds and leaves and carried them carefully back to the estate bungalow where we were staying.  On the way we also plucked some larger assamica leaves and buds from the bushes that surround the house. 

First we laid the two lots of leaves out in the clear bright sunlight to develop their natural sweetness and to allow them to wither just a little; next we invaded the bungalow kitchen (much to the amusement and interest of the bungalow staff who are not used to visitors making tea in their workspace) where we pan-fried the leaves to de-enzyme them and stop oxidation.  And then we sat on the porch of the bungalow rolling the leaves and buds by hand before drying them in the microwave - a somewhat eccentric and unconventional drying method but bungalow kitchens rarely have an oven so it was a question of using whatever equipment we had access to.

When we tasted both batches of tea, it was remarkable how good the sinensis tea was and although not a perfect example of Chinese-style green tea, it did clearly demonstrate how the two varietals suit the production of different types of tea.   It was fun and enlightening and pointed out how valuable the old Chinese bushes are.

During our week at Thiashola, we walked the estate roads and paths, scrambling up and down rough and rocky terrain to enjoy the amazing views and crimson sunsets, the gentle white clouds floating below us in the valleys, and the unspoiled forest that surrounds the tea garden.  We watched the pluckers at work, filling their baskets and loading sacks of leaf onto the lorries that pick up twice a day from the mustering points and we visited the vermiculture sheds (see left) where 17 troughs containing 1000 kilos of wriggling worms recycle organic waste matter to produce compost for the bushes. 

Of course, we also toured the factory where Thiashola’s quality orthodox teas are produced and spent time in the tasting room with the factory managers to learn more about the different types and grades of Thiashola tea made during the year.  Although Nilgiri is closer to the equator than north India’s tea regions and so doesn’t experience such extremes of weather, temperatures and the amount of rainfall do fluctuate and of course the tea reacts to the local conditions. 

Whenever temperatures cool down, the plant grows more slowly and develops more flavour and we absolutely gasped with amazement and admiration at the quality and character of the special seasonal tea that is made in small quantities each year in the cold season at Thiashola.  The fruity flavour and incredible quality made this Thiashola mid-winter tea truly spectacular!  Tim and I both declared that it was one of the finest teas we had tasted all year!

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