The G20 meeting on tourism which will be held here next month has come as an opportunity for the north Bengal tea industry to showcase the brew, including the globally-famed Darjeeling Tea, before representatives of various countries.

Makaibari, one of the gardens known for making the finest Darjeeling Tea, is all decked up for G20 delegates who will go there on April 1 to get the experience of the tea estate and savour the brew.

The G20 meeting will be held in Siliguri from April 1 to 3.

Nestled in the Kurseong hills, Makaibari is spread over 1,400 acres, half of which is a verdant rainforest, and a factory set up in 1859.

A woman worker of Makaibari depicted in the mural

“We are prepared to welcome the delegates to experience life in a tea garden in India. We want them to experience the aroma of freshly cut tea leaves, the brewing and the joy of sipping different tea blends. They will enjoy Silver Tips Imperial, one of the rarest teas of the world,” said Rudra Chatterjee, managing director, Luxmi Group, which owns the Makaibari garden.

The Silver Tips Imperial is a tea from Makaibari and was the favourite of Queen Elizabeth II. In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted her Silver Tips Imperial during his visit to Buckingham Palace.

Chatterjee said the G20 delegates would participate in "moonlight harvesting" during their visit to Makaibari.

They will be escorted in batches by fire-torch bearers and local dancers to the Makabari plantation. There, they will join hundreds of women workers to pick the rare tea leaves (for Silver Tips Imperial) with their own hands.

Ahead of the event, the garden has come up with a huge mural that displays women workers. Named The Wall of the People, the mural spans the entire length and breadth of the factory façade.

“It celebrates the real-life tea leaf pickers and not imaginary faces. The artwork has already become a massive draw among local people and tourists. The visitors will also experience gigantic art installations at the entrance to the factory where white orchids will be displayed,” Chatterjee added.

Kurseong, the subdivision where the tea estate is located, is known as the Land of White Orchids.

“It is definitely a good opportunity to display the special variety of teas before the delegates from different countries. There are niche buyers who prefer such teas and in India, we have to expand our tea basket. Having people from abroad who can experience the entire process, including the special picking, can surely help in expanding our international markets,” said Prabir Bhattacharjee, the secretary general of the Tea Association of India.

A veteran planter based in Siliguri pointed out that tea tourism had started becoming popular in recent years. A number of prominent tourist properties have come up on tea estates, both in the plains and the hills.

“Tea tourism is something which the industry should highlight as it is one of the key components of tourist attractions in this region now,” he said.