A writer’s brew
Dr. Bhupen Hazarika, the Brahmaputra, Bihu dance and Assam. There are things that naturally belong to each other. Tea and Dr Pradip Baruah are similarly bonded. Tea. It is just the one single syllable. Merely a beverage for most of us. In Jorhat, however, it is life itself. Tea gardens surround the city. More than […]
Tea meets Technology
Can the caffeine content of a cup of tea match that of a coffee one? Can there be a single factory to process tea for all the tea gardens of India? Is there any way to capture the aroma that the tea leaf gives when it is being processed? Can there be a truly instant […]
Silver Linings
“There is a crack in everythingThat’s how the light gets in” ~ Leonard Cohen This week we travel to Kerala – virtually, of course. We speak with Mr. Anil George at Harrisons Malayalam to understand how the tea sector is faring in God’s own country. For readers unfamiliar with Kerala – a bit of background […]
Pause. Hit Refresh.
The world suddenly pressed Pause. Humans retreated and other species found it safe to reclaim their portion of Earth. This precipitous withdrawal of humans to their protected colonies and houses inadvertently had an impact closer home. You can see it in the furrowed brows and promptly pinched purses of entrepreneurs. Passion – and not a […]
The classroom at 6500 feet
What if writing about tea was your hobby but you had never had a peep inside a tea processing factory? Well, we suffered from just this “character flaw” and that just had to be rectified. Oh, that image of Nilgiris in the monsoon – was that alluring or was it alluring. We reached out to […]
Tea for Tusker
Have a cup of tea. Save an elephant. That is what Tenzing Bodosa’s farm would like to achieve. Pondicherry is smallest district in India at 9 sq km. Kutch in Gujarat, on the other hand, is the largest at a mammoth 45,650 sq km area. Udalguri in Assam is relatively middling sized. Stretching 1,700 sq […]
Let’s go Dutch on tea
Zundert is a small town in south Netherlands, population 22,000. The birthplace of Vincent Van Gogh, it lies in a province that is one of the biggest agricultural provinces in the country. Strawberries and hedging plants are commonly grown. In fact, close to 10% of Netherlands nursery production takes place right here. It was only […]
Wild tea and Forest trails
We have all seen photographs of tea plantations. Primly groomed row upon row of tea bushes. Each bush, neat and tidy, pruned to about waist height. The leaves and bud eminently accessible, plucked with ease by an experienced picker. And that is the source of most of the tea we drink. Now imagine a forest […]
The Kolkata Boys evoke Nostealgia
It must be the air of Darjeeling. How else do you explain the change in plans of Souvik Nandy and Tathagata Samanta? Two Economics undergrads who reach the State Bank of India, Darjeeling for their summer internship. Their internship goes very well – from analyzing income statements and balance sheets, understanding unit economics and pricing […]
This Dweller resides in your cup
The year just going by – 2018 – witnessed a young startup taking shape in the form of Dweller Teas. Eli Yambem’s brainchild, Dweller is putting Manipur on the map for stimulating indigenous flavors and blends. The Assam Valley School at Tezpur stretches over an extremely picturesque 95 hectares. Founded by the Williamson Magor Education […]