India is one of the world’s top tea producers, consuming almost 80% of its own production. While India is predominantly an exporter of black teas, other varieties are becoming increasingly common. Arbor Teas is proud to offer a variety of organic teas from India, many of which are also Fair Trade Certified®. Our single origin teas have been produced by a single tea garden or estate and represent that garden’s specific flavor profile and production technique and include examples from: Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiri.
Full-bodied earthy Assam, with a rich maltiness and coppery notes
Bright, lemony infusion with punchy astringency and classic first flush character
Ripened Muscat grape and forest floor notes, ample astringency and strong body
Brisk and full-flavored decaf blend, with lemon and coppery notes
Medium-bodied decaffeinated green tea with notes of spinach, endive, and mineral
Hearty North Indian tea that makes for a quick infusion without the caffeine
Uniquely cooling and spicy mouthfeel give way to mint, lemon and rosemary notes
A selection of teas showing the range of flavors from India
Slightly lemony, vegetal and earthy in taste similar to other Darjeeling teas
Punchy astringency with a distinct oolong tasting finish and earthy lemon notes
Rich and earthy white tea flavor with muscatel and citrus overtones
Straightforward flavor with delicate and brisk floral notes, smooth when iced
India has become synonymous with tea, with regions like Darjeeling and Assam being almost completely devoted to producing tea. After China, India is the largest tea producing country in the world. Indigenous to India, the plant Camellia sinensis has thrived in India for thousands of years. However, it was not until the early 1800s when one of the greatest feats of industrial espionage brought large scale tea production to India in an attempt to break the Chinese monopoly. Though much of the tea grown in India is consumed by those that live there now, it was not until the 1950s that tea became a ubiquitous domestic drink, made popular by a successful campaign run by the Tea Board of India.
Many of our Indian teas come from the Makaibari Estate in Darjeeling, where the Banerjee family has been cultivating tea since 1859, and growing organically since 1988. At the Korakundah Estate in Nilgiri where our Nilgiri Black Tea is grown, part of the estate has been left untouched as a tiger preserve, where the tigers roam free and live in harmony with the tea bushes. In an effort to create a consistent and available product, we source our teas from Assam from several different estates including the Banaspati Estate, Hathikuli Estate and the Jalinga Estate. We also offer a Masala Chai blend, a classic Indian drink, which combines traditional chai spices like cardamom and clove with a black tea base from Assam. In addition to true Camellia sinensis, our Tulsi tea, a caffeine free herb, comes from India and is the Krishna Tulsi variety. Tulsi is also known as holy basil, and has become well-loved for its health properties as an adaptogen and source of antioxidants, as well as its distinctive licorice flavor. It has also been used in Ayurvedic herbal medicine. As always, none of our organic Indian teas are sold in tea bags, we only offer loose-leaf teas.