PLUCKING

Amid a world hurtling toward automation and innovation, Darjeeling tea remains an ode to tradition, its soul anchored in centuries-old craftsmanship. While global industries chase efficiency, these Himalayan gardens cling to artisanal rituals—the secret behind every sip’s irreplicable magic.

At the heart of this legacy are the women pluckers, whose hands have shaped the tea’s destiny since its colonial inception. The harvest begins as an act of endurance: under the Himalayan sun, they traverse steep slopes, their fingers swiftly discerning the prized “two leaves and a bud.” This meticulous selection, demanding both precision and stamina, lays the foundation for the tea’s celebrated quality.

The freshly plucked leaves are gathered into dokos—handwoven bamboo baskets strapped to their backs with namlo, a jute headband worn like a crown of resilience. More than mere tools, these artifacts symbolize a lineage of labor, a bond between earth and endurance that has sustained families across generations.

In an age of machines, Darjeeling’s tea whispers a different truth: that some treasures—fragile leaves, ancestral knowledge, the quiet strength of hands that cradle them—defy replication. Here, tradition is not a relic but a living pulse, beating in every leaf, every basket, every steeping cup.

With meticulous care and remarkable physical adaptability, determined women harvest 30 to 40 kilograms of leaves and buds from Camellia Sinensis bushes each spring and summer days. This precise plucking is vital for shaping Darjeeling tea’s signature flavor, with roughly 22,000 buds needed to produce one kilogram of tea. During other seasons, rapid leaf growth results in a harvest of three or four leaves alongside a bud, reflecting the plant’s changing growth patterns.

WEIGHING

After plucking, the tea leaves are weighed in factories or small open shelters called jhyapra, where queues of women wait to have their harvests recorded. These jhyapras double as communal rest spaces, offering workers a place to pause and safely leave infants in cradles while mothers return to the fields. During peak yields, leaves are weighed twice before being transported to factories for processing. The Chowkidar (garden supervisor) oversees this weighing process and manages the workers, holding a position of authority above the pluckers.

WITHERING

After weighing, the tea is transported to factories via tractors and spread into large perforated troughs (1–3 meters wide, 2–5 meters long). Despite their freshness, the leaves lack pliability. To reduce moisture by 60–70%, hot and cold air is circulated over them for 18–24 hours, depending on initial moisture levels. This drying (withering) softens the leaves, making them malleable enough to withstand rolling without crumbling. Workers periodically fluff and rotate the leaves to ensure uniform airflow exposure. Once withered, the fragrant leaves enter the rolling phase, where pressure is applied to shape them and release essential oils.

ROLLING

After withering, the tea leaves are rolled between two metal rollers under moderate pressure. This ruptures the leaf cells, releasing juices rich in essential oils, enzymes, cellulose, and organic compounds like polyphenols, catechins, tannin, flavonoids, and theaflavins—collectively constituting 25% of the leaf’s composition. Rolling lasts 40–45 minutes, preparing the leaves for oxidation, a critical phase for flavor development. Notably, white tea skips rolling entirely, preserving its delicate, unbroken leaves and subtle characteristics.

OXIDATION

Oxidation is the most delicate and pivotal stage in tea production, directly shaping the tea’s flavor, aroma, color, and quality. This biochemical reaction demands expert oversight to maintain optimal conditions: rolled leaves are thinly spread on trays in a cool, humid, and meticulously clean environment. The duration (from hours to days) hinges on variables like desired flavor profile, ambient temperature, humidity, leaf flush, prior withering/rolling intensity, and oxygen availability. Leaves may be re-rolled to enhance oxidation uniformity. Oxidation differentiates tea types:

  • Black tea: Fully oxidized.

  • Oolong tea: Partially oxidized through repeated rolling and oxidation cycles.

  • Green/White tea: No oxidation, preserving natural freshness.
    Historically termed “fermentation” (a misnomer borrowed from winemaking), oxidation is enzymatically driven, not microbial.

FIRING

In the final drying phase (often called firing), tea leaves are heated to halt enzymatic activity and lock in desired flavors, aroma, and color. After oxidation, leaves are loaded into conveyor-style driers with perforated trays, where they’re gradually dehydrated at 110°–240°C for 20–30 minutes. Careful control of air volume, tray speed, and leaf spread thickness ensures even drying without scorching, reducing moisture to minimal levels while preserving quality. This step also definitively stops oxidation, cementing the tea’s character—whether bold (black tea), floral (oolong), or grassy (green tea). Precision in temperature and airflow is critical to achieving the tea’s signature profile and shelf stability.

SORTING & PACKING

The manufacturing process concludes with grading the tea by leaf size. Post-firing, leaves pass through vibratory separators or mechanical graders, which sift them into distinct grades using calibrated vibrations. The sorted tea is then sealed in aluminum- or silver-lined foil packaging to preserve freshness and aroma before being dispatched globally. This final grading determines market value and brewing characteristics, with larger whole leaves prized for complexity and smaller particles used in tea bags for quicker infusion.

THE GRADES OF DARJEELING TEA 
 

Owing to the traditional methodology, the production focuses on retaining the solid stature of the leaves, hence classifying it into various grades according to the size of the leaves. Eventually, there are four types kinds of grading after the final production:

 

 

1) WHOLE LEAF

SFTGFOP: Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe is the finest and accordingly the most expensive grade having many tips, being long and wiry in appearance. Depending upon the season the tea imparts and exhibits its flavor and appearance.

 

FTGFOP: Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe 

 

TGFOP: Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe

 

2) BROKEN LEAF  (Leaves are smaller in size and are graded in a decreasing size order)

 

FTGBOP: Fine Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe 

 

TGBOP: Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe

 

FBOP: Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe.

 

BOP: Broken Orange Pekoe

 

3) FANNING (Leaves are even smaller than the broken grade)

GFOF: Golden Flowery Orange Fannings 

GOF: Golden Orange Fannings

4) DUST

 

D: Dust

 

The tea is graded only in accordance to the size and not the quality of the flush, however, the price entirely depends on the size, the quality and the stature of each ”two leaves and a bud”..