The appearance of the first flushing is a very anticipated moment in any tea room. When I planned a visit to Wah Tea EstateI was hoping that I would see this moment first -hand – see the fine two leaves and donut. Located in the picturesque Kangaroo Valley, at the foot of the snowy Mountains of Dhauladhar in Himachal Pradesh in India, the property promised a breathtaking background of this seasonal ritual. But to my happiness, or maybe misfortunes, I came a bit too early. The first rinse was delayed, subtle, but mentioning the sign of the changing climate. The rolls were just beginning to move, and their fresh green tips appeared, irritating me with the promise of what is to come.
Wah Tea Estate is the largest tea plantation in Palampur and a larger Kangaroo region, extending to 526 Akrach. Malicon – houses for tea plantations, tea factory, cafe, lodge, tea and tasting room – crafts Kangaroo Orthodox Black and Green Tea, made only of the original variety.
I was warmly welcomed in The Lodge in Wah by Surya Jai Prakash, a fourth generation planter that manages the activity of property and his family. Estimated by his father, Deepak Prakash, the lodge exudes with a low sense of luxury, carefully made of local materials and established techniques that honor the architectural aesthetics of the region. Both under WAW, both the lodge and the property offer guests many opportunities to immerse themselves in the art of tea. Trips with a guide and tasting sessions show a variety of infusion, which give a deeper recognition of the opulent and often overlooked kangarian heritage.
The heritage is elaborate, and its heritage covers the Himalayas, from Assam in the northeast to Kangaroo in the north. In the nineteenth century, the British Global Empire faced the challenge of providing an obsessive tea of the population drinking tea at home. Tea has long been grown on the Assam hills, located in the north -eastern India at the foot of the Himalayas, many years before the British foot in the region. However, the Empire brought its own desire and specialist knowledge (including employed from China) to cultivate cultivation in Assam. As part of the next effort to cultivate and secure stable tea supply, a Scottish botanist named Robert Fortune, was sent to a secret mission to China to smuggle tea plants along with strictly guarded knowledge of tea production. This Chinese variety was grown in the Himalayan valleys of Nepal: Darjeeling, Dehradun and Kangaroo.
As part of these expansion efforts, the British founded Wah Tea Estate in 1857 in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. The property prospered for decades of continuous cultivation, and even survived the destructive earthquake in 1905. It was later acquired by Sir Sikander Hayat-Khan, son of Nawaba Wah in contemporary Pakistan, who called the property after his place of birth. Accordingly: “Wah” explains to “wow”, visitors to the sentiment will probably share the property.
The property was purchased in 1953 by great -grandfather Surya Jai Prakash, who currently supervises the production process in the property and case of the lodge. Coming from the family of tea breeders, Surya grew up immersed in the world of tea. Lush green bushes of property and encouraging the warmth of the lodge reflect his commitment to creating the perfect mug and creating an experience that really embodies traveling from garden to the cup.
Teas in India are known for their black teas, made using the Orthodox method, in which each batch of freshly pulled out leaves is crushed, rolling and oxidation, carefully run by the Master of Tea to bring out the opulent and elaborate flavors of tea. While the production of black tea in the Kangaroo Valley has the same Orthodox method, its taste profile distinguishes it from typical Assam and Darjeeling teas, with delicate sweetness and a hint of sharpness. In addition to the production of black teas, Wah successfully combines the precision of the Chinese tradition of tea with the opulent and diverse terror of India. They mastered the art of making a fired gentleman tea in green, Oolong and White.
My company, Don, allows her Olong AND White teas From Wah Tea Estate, and during my visit I willingly gained a deeper understanding of how both compact batch teas are produced. During the factory trip, I met the Wah tea producer, Rudra Sharma, who shared a convincing insight into how real tea begins not in the factory, but in the tea garden. It brings with it three decades of experience with Darjeeling, now passed on to create a characteristic, darker olarong in the Kangaroo Valley, which is smoky, keen and full of character. The master of his craftsmanship, meticulously follows local weather conditions – heart rate, humidity and rainfall – to determine the exact moment of retention of oxidation by baking leaves on low heat. Oolong is rolled up by hand to make sure that the leaf is carefully treated and produced only in compact parts. The first fine leaves of the season are reserved for craft white tea. Wah white tea is something special – determining, refined and with a taste that causes freshness of rain. Tea undergoes minimal processing, enabling leaves to preserve subtle flavors and aromas.
Walking around the tea room, I noticed several employees spraying the fields and initially assumed that it was a conventional pesticide. Intriguing, I asked what they were using and I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that it was a natural mixture made of lemon grass and galgal (citrus from the Himalayas), which were grown next to tea. This ecological practice is part of the passage of property to organic agriculture, which began two years ago. I also discovered that the soil is enriched with an internal bio -bio -beam, produced from cut tea bush at the end of each season, additionally supporting the commitment of property in sustainable cultivation.
Since the full range of Wah teas was presented in front of me for tasting, I was impressed by the championship behind each cup. Deep estate respect for the leaf is evident in carefully made infusions. To my joy, I learned that Oolong can be adapted to Don’s preferences and its clients. It was encouraging to see how Whale carefully accumulates local traditions and tea crafts. I left the property with a lot of tea and silent hope that I would come back someday and see the energy of full rinsing first hand.
