[6] Darjeeling could not compete with other tea regions in terms of quantity or price (due to its geographic limitations, remoteness, slower plant growth, inability to mechanize, among other factors) or so it focused on quality. The Nepalese marched till the east of Sikkim in 1780 as far as Tista River. The British envoy was openly insulted and returned to Darjeeling. From a mere population of only around 100 in 1839 the population grew to 10,000 by 1849. A summer resort for British officials to escape the heat in the plains. History of darjeeling The name ‘Darjeeling’ is derived from a monastery called ‘Dorje Ling’, built by Denzongpa tribals in 1765, on behalf of the Chogyal or King of Sikkim. The Archaeological Survey of India has come up with a publication on two European cemeteries in Darjeeling that throws light not only on the rich colonial history … Welcomed by inhabitants as they had to pay a small and fixed tax to the Treasury at Darjeeling. Sikkim undertook to complete the remaining part. History of Darjeeling and the Sikkim Himalaya. They have developed a unified ethnic identity and advocated for independence from West Bengal. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the DHR or the Toy Train, is a 2 ft (610 mm) gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal.Built between 1879 and 1881, it is about 88 km (55 mi) long. Environmental factors combined with a history of organized cultivation and processing has created a terroir unique to Darjeeling tea. The first pluckings in Spring, generally March into May, are referred to as the first flush. From a Report dated 18th June 1829, in which he claims to have been the only European, who visited the place. This was an unconditional cessation of what was then a worthless uninhabited mountain. [1] At the time, the British were seeking a source of tea outside of China and had both recently discovered a second variety of the plant growing in the wilderness of Assam and smuggled seeds and plantings out of China. Accordingly, GTA Sabha was constituted on 02.08.2012 with forty-five elected members and five members nominated by the Governor. [10] The climate creates four distinct periods of cultivation, each of which has unique characteristics. Resident in Nepal was transferred to Darjeeling as Superintendent. The place was later invaded by the Gorkha army in the 1790s. After independence, the estates were all subsequently sold to businesses in India and regulated under the laws of India. Production methods again shifted in the 1990s as Western Europe and Japan replaced the collapsed Soviet Union as Darjeeling's principal customers and new garden managers were bringing the principles of biodynamic agriculture to their practices. Sikkim was a protectorate first of British India and after its independence in 1947 of India. The plants are plucked by hand every five to ten days, most typically of their top two leaves and a bud, however, based on growing conditions and desired product just the bud or the bud and top leaf may sometimes be plucked. The name Darjeeling comes from the Tibetan words, Dorje (thunderbolt) and Ling (place or land), meaning the land of the thunderbolt. Raja of Sikkim confined to mountainous hinterland and cut off from all access to the plains except through British territory. For every 150 milliliters (​2⁄3 cup) of water used, 2 to 3 grams (one tablespoon) of loose leaf tea is added. The British were the ones who began this hugely profitable industry in the 1800s. History of Darjeeling is quite unique, interesting and even entertaining. History Edit. Issues related to the transferred subjects to the GTA. The West Bengal government is also involved in providing regulatory supervision of numerous aspects of estate operations, including land use and labour agreements. Thereafter, the district administration has been continuously upholding the values that the country was based on. “I’d been to many tea places around the world, but nowhere struck me or intrigued me like Darjeeling,” he says, later explaining the draw is an ineffable combination of its isolation, topographic beauty, history, and the tradition and care of its tea production. The Bhutanese were constantly raiding and plundering the areas of Darjeeling. However, the low wages contribute to a high rate of absenteeism of workers seeking higher paying work elsewhere. An annual grant of Rs. While general tea flavours are created by thearubigins and theaflavins, chemical analysis on Darjeeling teas show their unique muscatel flavour is the result of 3,7-dimethyl-1,5,7-octatrien-3-ol and 2,6-dimethyl-3,7-octa-diene-2,6-diol, with other aromatic compounds coming from linalool, benzyl alcohol, cis-3-hexenol, α-farnesene, benzyl nitrile, indole, nerolidol and ocimene. the Siliguri sub-division and in the hills ‘ the whole southern part of Sikkim, between the Great Rangeet and the plains of India, and from Nepal on the west to the Bhutan frontier and the Teesta river on the east’. Ashley Eden, lieutenant governor of Bengal, formed a committee to assess the project's feasibility. Sikkim was a Buddhist kingdom under the Namgyal-Chogyal dynasty from 1642 to 1975. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. The first commercial tea gardens were established in 1856 and by 1866 there were 39 tea gardens in Darjeeling,[citation needed] including the Makaibari Tea Estate which had established the region's first processing factory for withering and oxidation, necessary for the product to survive the months long journey down to Kolkata and over to Britain. As Darjeeling tea gained a reputation for its distinctiveness and quality, it was marketed more to Western Europe with many estates acquiring organic, biodynamic and Fairtrade certifications and the Tea Board of India pursuing authentication and international promotion of Darjeeling teas. It was in 1839 when Dr. Archibald Campbell came as a Superintendent of Darjeeling, the first possibility of cultivating Darjeeling tea came up. Following Indian independence in 1947, practices shifted as British began to sell their stakes in the gardens to Indians and the 1953 Tea Act put the tea industry under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Tea Board of India. Hardcover – January 1, 1993. [2] Otherwise, Darjeeling teas are described as possessing a flowery fragrance and fruity (grapes, plums, apricots, peaches, pineapple, guava, or citrus fruits), flowery and woody aroma notes, and a little more astringency than its Chinese counterparts.[14][4][19]. No. [24], First flush Darjeeling tea before and after, "India's tea exporters suffer with decline of 9 million kg in shipments in 2015", "GI tag: TN trails Karnataka with 18 products", "Don't Call It Darjeeling, It's Nepali Tea", "Fairtrade Standard for Tea for Hired Labour and Traders", "Absenteeism in Darjeeling tea sector hits 50%", "Darjeeling's general strike ends too late to save tea harvest", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Darjeeling_tea&oldid=998207379, All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Black (green, white and oolong also produced), This page was last edited on 4 January 2021, at 08:40. Darjeeling got its name derived from “Dorje” which means “thunderbolts” and “Ling” means the “place” and collectively means “the land of … belonged to Nepal, which won it by conquest’. [20] Some of the notable tea estates include: The Government of West Bengal owns the land on which the estates are located and administer 30 to 90 year leases under the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act to companies operating the estates. Darjeeling is synonymous with tea. Delimitation of GTA Sabha Constituencies. The period 1982 to 1988 saw the people of Darjeeling in agitation for the formation of a separate state. 1835 the area of Darjeeling - that had been part of Sikkim until then - was annexed by British India. While the original plantings succeeded, Campbell moved to Lebong where he and several other residents planted a new batch, in 1846, of both varieties (sinensis and assamica). The word Darjeeling is derived from a Lepcha word ‘ Dorjeling ’ meaning the Land of Thunderbolt. Both the newly discovered assamica variety and the sinensis variety were planted but the sloped drainage, cool winters and cloud cover favoured sinensis. Audit of Accounts of erstwhile DGHC and present GTA. © Darjeeling District Administration , Developed and hosted by National Informatics Centre,Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology. The subtropical and wet temperate forest cover that developed under these conditions left slightly acidic loamy soils with high organic materials. The Tea Board of India recognizes 87 tea estates (also called "tea gardens") as producers of Darjeeling tea. Darjeeling teas, especially the first flush, tend to be withered longer than other black teas; a hard wither can reduce a leaf's water content by more than half, affecting polyphenol oxidase activity and leaving a more green appearance. Raids from Sikkim however continued. 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