– Henry James
The Tea Legacy
Legend has it that the first tea plant grew out of the severed eyelid of the Saint Daruma, the founder of Zen Buddhism. Angry with himself for falling asleep during meditation, he cut it off and let it fall to the Earth. From there, grew the first magical tea leaves that, when brewed, would banish sleep. And so the magical tea plant and its vivifying beverage came into being.
In India, tea was originally brought from China in 1774 for the English gentlemen of the Raj. But when relations with China took a plunge in the mid 1800s, so did the English Raj’s access to Chinese tea. This led to the formation of the Tea Committee of India and eventually the Indian Tea Empire, all to satisfy the Raj’s passion for the refreshing brew.
Thiashola Tea
The stunning Thiashola Tea Estate sits at a height of 6000 feet above sea level and spread over hectares of undulating hills in the Nilgiris. The first tea plants in the area were planted by Chinese prisoners of the Opium wars at the site of Jail Muttom. For years, they lovingly tended to them and cultivated them into plantations. As the years went by, the plantations flourished and their fame spread far and wide.
Preserving a Unique Lineage
The stunning Thiashola Tea Estate in The Nilgiris has been producing fine signature tea for a niche market, under the aegis of Thiashola Plantations Private Limited. To preserve its lineage and uniqueness, the factory has adopted the finest practices from all over the country and as a result, is able to produce value added tea, constantly sought by the best tea sectors in the world.