Tarajulie-FBOP Estate Black Tea

• Country of Origin: India
• Region: Assam -Thakurbari
• Shipping Port: Thakurbari
• Grade: FBOP (Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe)
• Altitude: 1500 feet above sea level
• Manufacturer Type: Orthodox
• Cup Characteristics: A thick full-bodied tea with good malty flavour. A good all day self-drinker.
• Infusions: Bright and tending coppery
• Ingredients: Luxury black tea.

To give you an idea of how long they’ve been making tea on Tarajulie Estate, consider the following. The year Tarajulie was first planted also saw the publishing of edition one of the Oxford English Dictionary, completion of the Washington Monument and the birth of Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States – 1884 - it’s been a while. Tarajulie is an exceptionally picturesque estate, nestled between the Gabharu River to the West and the Dipota River to the East. To this day, the jungle surrounding the Estate is as wild and untamed as it was when the first planters sat back with a newspaper to read that the French artist Gustave Doré had died the year before. (Gustave died in 1883. Yes! It took months and months for news and mail to reach Assam’s early planters.)

The Estate spreads out over approximately 699 hectares divided by two divisions, Tara and Julie. The divisions get their names from two 6 hectare lakes contained within their boundaries. Of Tarajulie’s total land area, 503 hectares are under tea with production divided between CTC (Cut Tear & Curl) and Orthodox teas. Living on the Estate is a workforce of approximately 1065 people and their immediate, and in many cases, extended families. Over the years, as the Estate has grown, many of these families have grown with it, in some cases dating back all the way to the turn of the last century. Thankfully, conditions on the Estate are considerably better than they were in 1884. Everyone living on Tarajulie has access to an excellent standard of health care, education and housing. As well, land that is not under tea is in many cases given to the workers for the growing of their own crops.

So, how’s the tea? Well, let’s say that the men who trail-blazed their way up the Brahmaputra to plant the first bushes, would be beaming with pride at the legacy they’ve left behind. Tarajulie FBOP 2nf flush offers a yellowish bright liquor with an fabulously robust cup and deep malt character - an exceptional tea. Eleanor Roosevelt would have loved it. (She was also born in 1884.)