Highfield Tea Estate, Coonoor, Nilgiri, India
I had an excellent time visiting the Highfield Tea Estate. Several factors are different when compared to estates in Darjeeling: climate, soil, variety of plant, production process, and economic factors to name a few.
Highfield’s primary product is CTC (crush, tear, curl) which is a manufacturing process designed to output maximum quantity and standard black tea taste. CTC is the tea used in chai.
The goal of the Makaibari project is to transition the Highfield estate to organic and biodynamic practices.
While there I got to learn about the factors that will change with this conversion process. There is great enthusiasm for this transition as it opens Highfield up to new markets and raises the standard for tea produced in Nilgiri.
More to come on the people involved, how CTC is made, and the first batch of organic green tea being produced at Highfield.