Kolukkumalai, India
Imagine yourself flying in to Kochi, India. You are in a hot and humid coastal city. You get on a bus and travel for a few hours to a world wholly removed from what you just experienced. The city you are in can barely be called that. It is rather a way station for travelers who wish to see beautiful tea plantations. It is boisterous, full of energy and people bustling about. A rickshaw takes you to a distant village. Passing by you see tea plantations stretching all around you. You reach a point where the rickshaw can go no more, and get onto a jeep for the rest of the way.
After about an hour of the most intensely bumpy road you have ever been on you arrive at the top of a magnificent mountain range covered with tea plants, and a few buildings here and there. You have arrived at Kolukkumalai.
Tea Plantation
The tea plants at Kolukkumalai Tea Estate were planted in the early 1900’s by the British. Over time the plantation passed into Indian ownership as it remains to this day. There are nearly 600 acres of plants. The plantation uses 100% organic methods. As we walked around we were able to interact with the tea pickers. These ladies picked approximately 100 lbs of tea each day by hand!
The staff works and lives on the tea plantation. The staff is given a place to live as well as a small compensation for their hard work. Their families live there as well. The demand is a lot higher than there are workers. Many young people grow up and move to the big cities to get better jobs. A lot of the workers were older people who have had this job passed down from their own parents.
The higher you go the better the tea is, and the tea here is the highest grown in the whole world. Surrounding the plantation on all sides are amazing mountain views and hikes that you can go on. We experienced both an amazing sunrise as well as a beautiful sunset.
Tea Making Process
Black tea, green tea, and white tea are all made from the same exact plant. The plant is called Camellia sinensis and it’s a species of evergreen shrub whose leaves and leaf buds are used to make different types of tea. Each sort of tea comes from different parts of the plant as well as is processed differently.
Step 1
To begin, the tea plant sends out new shoots as it grows. These are what is harvested for making tea. The workers use a pair of scissors with a bag attached to collect the leaves for black tea. When it comes to green tea only the very newest shoots with small leaves are picked. For white tea only the absolute youngest bud is used. Understandably black tea is the cheapest, while white tea is the most expensive.
After picking, white tea is dried and is ready for use.
Green tea has a little bit longer process of first being crushed, dried and then it is ready.
Lastly black tea has the longest process.
Step 2
First it is withered which means that it is dried at a low heat for a day in order to get moisture out and start the oxidation process.
Step 3
Afterwards it is crushed just like the green tea.
Step 4
After crushing it is fermented or rather oxidized in order to give it the black color.
Step 5-7
Now it is ready to be dried, sifted, and sorted.
Step 8
Lastly, the tea is packaged and shipped out to different parts of India. Usually the best and highest quality tea is exported.
You are now ready to make your own homegrown tea!
Staying at the Tea Estate
If you really want to have an in-depth experience at the tea plantation your best bet is to either stay in one of their rooms or to camp. They have a few rooms available as well as a number of campsites. The rooms are comfortable and food is included. The surrounding scenery is beautiful and there are a few different trails you can hike.
Overall, our experience at Kolukkumalai was awe inspiring. It was Katie’s dream to visit tea fields and this exceeded our expectations. Included in our stay were two free bags of organic tea. We gifted the tea to our family to enjoy since we can’t don’t have room in our backpacks .
If you are in India or are planning to visit Munnar then you totally should make your way up to Kolukkumalai Tea Estate! It will leave you breathless.
Let us know if you have any questions or if you have visited any other tea plantations, we’d love to hear your input!
Drink some tea, it’s healthy for you,
Alex and Katie
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