Darjeeling Tea Estates: R-T
Risheehat & Lizahill Tea Estate
This is an organic tea estate owned by The Jayshree Tea Group. The estate is located in the Darjeeling Eastern Valley and about 15kms from the town. It has two divisions - Risheehat and Lizahill.
The name Risheehat means the "Home of the Saint". Originally the estate was known as Tsering Bagan due to the local population of Tsering tribes in the area.
It was established by the British planters in the mid 1800s. It's a beautiful scenic garden facing the Kanchenjunga to the north and having a steep slope. It produces Darjeeling black, green, oolong, white and specialty teas including Silver Tips.
Annual gross production is 120 tons and tea is cultivated in an area of 256 hectares. The villagers grow oranges, cardamom and different vegetables on the farming areas of the estate.
Jay Shree Tea & Industries Ltd.
Industry House, 15th Floor, 10,Camac Street, Kolkata-700 017, India.
Rohini Tea Estate
You will see the estate as you take the Rohini route towards Kurseong from the lower planes. This 138 hectares of tea estate is located at the southern part of Kurseong with elevations ranging from 1500 to 2300 meters. Between 1962 to 1994, the tea gardens of Rohini were closed down. It was then taken over by the Saria family who also own the Gopaldhara Tea Estate.
Majority of the tea bushes here (about 108 hectares) are new and have been planted after the Sarias had taken over the gardens. However the uppermost part of the estate still has very old and original bushes that are over 100 years old. Rohini cultivates black tea.
Gopaldhara Tea Co Pvt Ltd
17, Business Point, Ganesh Chandra Avenue, Kolkata: 700013, India.
Singbulli Tea Estate
While the tea estate was originally set up by British planters, the tea processing in its factory started in 1924. The estate is located near Mirik (on NH 35), covers an area of 474 hectares under tea with an elevation ranging from 1200 to 4100 ft. It produces 250 tons of tea per year that includes black, green and specialty tea. It employs over 1325 workers. The tea estate is jointly held by the BK Birla Group and Jayshree Tea.
Jay Shree Tea & Industries Ltd.
Industry House, 15th Floor, 10,Camac Street, Kolkata-700 017, India.
Although these two were separate tea gardens once, they have been taken over and combined by the Chirimars in 1999. Steinthal is the oldest tea garden in Darjeeling hills where the first plantation took place in 1852, while Singtom is the 3rd oldest garden in Darjeeling. Together the estate stretches across 1662 acres of land area. This is an organic tea estate and produces 70,000 to 80,000kgs of tea (green, black and white) annually. They have renovated the 1862 planter's bungalow which was used as Directors' bungalow until 2012 and converted that into a tea estate resort for tourists.
Sungma & Turzum Tea Estate
It's a combination of two tea estates and locate about 30kms south west of Darjeeling town in Rungbong valley, having an even slope and facing the Mirik valley towards south. The elevation ranges from 1155 to 1700 meters. It has a fantastic view.
The estate was originally established in mid 1800s by the British planters. The name Sungma has been derived from Tibetan words (Sanga Maru) that stands for the place where mushrooms grow heavily. The name Turzum came from Tur-Zum which means the place of weekly village market.
In 1934, the factory at Sungma was demolished by an earthquake. Later the two estates were merged and the tea processing started in the factory at Turzum garden. China seeds have been used in the gardens that produce 150 tons of tea annually (black and green) over an area of 282 hectares. The estate is owned by the Jayshree Tea Group.
Jay Shree Tea & Industries Ltd.
Industry House, 15th Floor, 10,Camac Street, Kolkata-700 017, India.
Thurbo Tea Estate
Thurbo is a well known name in Darjeeling tea. The estate that sprawls over 172 hectares of tea plantation is located at the Mirik valley under the shadows of Kanchenjunga. There is a story that the British had setup a camp here to attack Nepal. The local word Tombu means camp, which perhaps had been distorted over time and became Thurbo. The estate is owned by Goodricke Group and lies at an elevation ranging from 760 to 1890 meters. The garden produces black Darjeeling tea using China and clonal bushes.
Goodricke Group Limited, Camellia House, 14 Gurusaday Road, Kolkata: 700 019, India.
Tindharia Tea Estate
This bio-organic estate is located in southern Kurseong at Tindharia. Area under tea plantation is 150 hectares which lies at an elevation from 400 to 1000 meters. In 2004, the estate was taken over by Balagi Agro International and the factory was revamped. The plantation includes China, Hybrid and Assam varieties. The estate produces 70 Tons of tea annually including Black, Green and white teas. There are some 450 tea workers employed in the gardens.
Balagi Agro International
10, Princep Street, Kolkata-700072, India
Tukdah (Teesta Valley) Tea Estate
Tukdah is a picterusque tea estate located at the Teesta Valley, covering a total area of 557 hectares out of which 288 hectares is under tea plantation. Due to its magnificent views, the gardens along with its planters bungalow have been filmed in several movies. The sprawling estate has elevation varying from 2500 to 6500 feet. It was originally established in 1864. Over the years it has changed ownership from Darjeeling Consolidated Ltd. to Darjeeling Plantation Industries Ltd., and finally in 2004 to Chamong Group.
The word Tukdah in Lepcha means "Place of tigers". However these days that tigers have all gone although once in a while leopards do stray into the garden area. In 1960s, the tea bushes from the Tukdah gardens were uprooted and replanted with new ones with the objective of producing delicate first flush. The estate today produces 210,000kgs of tea that includes black, green and white varieties, and is a bio-organic estate.
Chamong Tee Exports Pvt. Ltd.
2, N. C. Dutta Sarani, Sagar Estate, 5th Floor, Unit 1, Kolkata – 700001, India
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