Good Name Is Restored in Terrain Known
for Tea
-
The New York Times
DARJEELING,
India — Among connoisseurs, few teas surpass a good Darjeeling. The smooth and
mellow taste commands a premium price, and the name itself evokes a bygone era
when the British first introduced Chinese tea plants here in the Indian
foothills of the Himalayas.
To Anil
K. Jha, the superintendent of the Sungma Tea Estate, all this would be
extremely good for business, except that much of the tea sold globally as
Darjeeling is not actually grown here. Foreign wholesalers often put the name
on a blend of the real stuff and lesser teas. And in some cases, growers
elsewhere simply slap a Darjeeling label on their tea.
So Mr.
Jha and other Darjeeling growers have followed the example of Scottish whisky
distillers and French wineries, winning legal protection for the Darjeeling
label under laws that limit the use of certain geographic names to products
that come from those places.
In a
decision this year, the European Union agreed
to phase out the use of “Darjeeling” on blended teas. Now, just as a bottle of
Cognac must come from the region around the French town of Cognac, a cup of
Darjeeling tea will have to be made only from tea grown around Darjeeling.
“That
flavor, that uniqueness that comes from here — it is nowhere else,” Mr. Jha
said as he stood among manicured tea bushes on a hillside about 5,000 feet
above sea level, near the border with Nepal. “People have tried to replicate
it, but have failed,” he said.
The
uniqueness of Darjeeling as a place certainly seems beyond dispute. On clear days,
the white peaks of Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-highest
mountain after Everest and K2, floats over the hilltop city like an ethereal
fortress. Beyond the clamor of the city, many of the steep surrounding
foothills are carpeted with tea estates, some planted more than 160 years ago
when a British surgeon found that tea bushes thrived in the region’s alpine
setting.
The
mountainous terrain also limits production. India produces almost two billion
pounds of tea annually, more than any other country, but Darjeeling accounts
for only about 1 percent of that output. The Darjeeling district has 87
certified tea gardens, as they are locally known, producing about 20 million
pounds of tea every year, and the potential for expansion is almost nil.
That is
why local tea growers grew annoyed that as much as 88 million pounds of tea
were being sold as Darjeeling on the global market each year.
“Darjeeling
tea has always been more expensive,” said Ranen Datta, a longtime adviser to
local tea growers, noting that the wholesale price is about five times that of
ordinary teas. “And we found that sellers all over the world were selling tea
under the name Darjeeling.”
And not
only tea: A French company that makes lingerie has fought legal battles with
the Tea Board of
India to keep using the name.
“This
brand name, Darjeeling, was being misused,” Mr. Jha said. “The basic interest
of Darjeeling was being killed.”
Local tea
growers had already fought to save their product from the vagaries of cold war
politics. During the era of British rule, Darjeeling tea was shipped mainly to
Europe, which remained the primary market after Indian independence in 1947,
when Darjeeling’s tea gardens shifted from British to Indian ownership.
But as
India drew politically closer to the Soviet Union, a deal to sell tea to Moscow
ushered in a dark period for Darjeeling. The Soviets ordered in bulk and mixed
Darjeeling with pedestrian teas from Soviet satellite countries so it could be
marketed more widely.
“Russians
were not particular about the quality of Darjeeling,” Mr. Datta said. “They
took it if it was clear and black.”
Growers
saturated their tea gardens with chemicals and pesticides to maximize output,
and annual production rose to about 29 million pounds. But when the Soviet
Union dissolved in 1991, so did the export deal, leaving Darjeeling with a crop
it had trouble selling in Europe, where many customers, especially in Germany,
were aghast at the chemical use.
“There
were no buyers,” Mr. Jha recalled. “It took a long time to revive the image of
Darjeeling.”
The key
was to focus once again on quality. Tea growers began discarding chemicals and
shifting toward organic farming practices. Total production fell, but prices
rose steadily, as growers marketed Darjeeling teas according to the seasons,
with the greatest demand during the two harvesting times, known as the first
and second flushes, which run between February and July. Growers also developed
luxury tea products, particularly “white tips” tea, which is drawn from the
white buds of tea leaves.
But as
Darjeeling’s reputation was restored, growers discovered that their teas were
being repackaged overseas. Europe had become the biggest buyer again, but some
wholesalers there were blending Darjeeling with other teas to bulk up their
volume, while continuing to label the resulting mixture as Darjeeling tea.
To fight
back, the Tea Board designated Darjeeling as a “geographical indication” for
tea that is recognized by the World Trade Organization. Over time,
Indian tea officials negotiated agreements with various countries to ensure
that the status of the Darjeeling name was respected. The European Union
resisted for several years, but a deal was finally struck in 2012 to phase out
blended Darjeeling in Europe within five years.
“In the
case of Darjeeling tea, it was accepted that there was specificity that is
unique — and geographically based,” said João Cravinho, the European Union’s
ambassador to India. “Tea produced anywhere else will have different
characteristics.”
Mr.
Cravinho noted that Europe was pushing its own geographic indication cases in
India as part of negotiations for a free trade agreement. For example, while
India recognizes Cognac as a geographic indication, it does not do the same for
Champagne, so sparkling wines from other places can be sold legally in India as
“champagne,” a practice that the European Union wants ended.
Up on the
slopes of the Sungma Tea Estate, Mr. Jha said he believes that the trade
protections will not only increase profits for the local industry but also,
ultimately, save Darjeeling tea. The estate is certified as organic by India,
Japan and the United States, and it is pursuing a globally recognized
environmental certification.
Reaching
down to pluck a leaf from a tea bush planted more than a century earlier, Mr.
Jha gestured toward the surrounding foothills.
“Here, we
are not doing anything,” he said. “It is all God-gifted.”
