A classic Assam with a traditional leaf style. Produced during June this tea embodies all the flavor and strength you expect from a top Assam estate.

Ingredients From: India

Region(s): Assam

Shipping Port(s): Calcutta + Haldia

Grade(s): TGFOP (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)

Growing Altitudes: 500 - 1500 feet above sea level

Manufacture Type(s): Orthodox (Traditional leafy)

Cup Characteristics: A classic Assam with a traditional leaf style. Produced during June this tea embodies all the flavor and strength you expect from a top Assam estate.

Infusion: Bright and tending coppery

Luxury Ingredients: Black tea

Information

Established in 1908, Behora Estate in Assam's Golaghat district is one of the region's newest. (We admit, it's still pretty old.) As with numerous Indian tea estates, many families living and working there have done so since the day the gates opened. One such resident, a man named Sri Boyo Ghakte, gave our Master Taster a rundown of Behora's history – they met when Sri was a ripe 105 years old. (The estate provides excellent health care.) His story went as follows:

“The factory was started around 1908 on the banks of the Dhunseri River where the present day clonal nursery exists. This was the best place for a factory because it was easier to dispatch tea via the river route, which was the only way to transport teas. The factory building was made of wood. Leaf was naturally withered and cut into small pieces by men and then ground in huge wooden bowls. The tea was dried in big cast iron pans over a slow fire. There was a steamer depot on the banks of the Dhunseri and all teas were shipped from this depot. The present day factory was built around 1935. When they were clearing land for the estate in the early 1900's the manager used local people. He also used elephants. However the locals would not dare go into the forest that was being cleared because it was full of wild animals. The forest was filled with tigers, a horned rhino and elephants not to mention many varieties of poisonous snakes”

Quite a tale. Since opening, Behora has developed an excellent reputation by consistently manufacturing best of class teas. Its location in Golaghat, besides making it easier “to dispatch tea via the river route”, gives it the benefit of some of Assam's premiere soil conditions. The quality of its teas has allowed Behora to thrive and grow and today, total land under tea is nearly 5 square miles, producing approximately 3 million pounds of tea per annum. Sri Boyo Ghakte, if he is still alive, now counts himself a member of one of 1200 families, totalling 7700 people, including 1200 estate workers. All are afforded care at the Estate's excellent hospital and school aged children are educated in one of 3 schools. It's an incredible place to say the very least. Their TGFOP is just as amazing.