Makaibari tea garden, the only tea garden in Darjeeling district that claims to have never been owned “by the components of the Raj” will unfurl a limited edition “swadeshi tea” made from tea bushes that were planted in 1947, on Independence Day.
The collector’s item has been christened Verleni 1947.
Rudra Chatterjee, MD, Luxmi Tea, said: “Makaibari was always a swadeshi tea, a Darjeeling estate that was never under British ownership and now owned by Luxmi Tea, a company started as a tool for Satyagraha whose founders were members of the Anushilan Party.”
Makaibari Tea Estates in Kurseong was set up by Girish Chandra Banerjee in 1859. He belonged to a zamindar family from Borai, about 100km from Calcutta.
The tea estate is now under Luxmi Tea and the group, too, has a “swadeshi” link.
P.C. Chatterjee, the present MD’s grandfather, began to cultivate tea independently in the colonial era, without management agencies or advisers from London. Assamese and Bengali freedom fighters and students who also rebelled against the British rule joined Luxmi which was then referred to as Indian Tea and Provisions. This cultivation was started in Tripura in 1912.
“My grandfather was a freedom fighter. He founded this company as a tool for Satyagraha,” said Chatterjee.
The Verleni 1947 tea, which will be available from midnight of August 14, is harvested from Chinese tea bushes.
“Only 1,000 packs of the limited edition Verleni 1947 will be available from August 15,” said Atul Rastogi, CEO, Luxmi Tea.
Makaibari produces around 1 lakh kilograms of tea annually and is spread across 1,400 acres of plantation, half of which is a verdant rainforest.
Makaibari has made waves globally.
In 2014, Makaibari’s Silver Tips Imperial was sold at Rs 1.17 lakh per kg. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace in 2016, he gifted her a packet of Makaibari tea.
The brew from Makaibari was also served to participants and staff of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.