This time last year: The many outfits of Mr. Rajah Banerjee, managing director of the Makaibari Tea Estate. Darjeeling, India. May 2013.
Tag: india
This time last year: I made my own tea. Top: leaves after the overnight wilt (separated in two piles, but same leaves). Note the handwritten label to identify my batch. Bottom: hand-rolling in the Makaibari factory. May 2013.
This time last year: Women plucking tea in the fields of Makaibari Estate, May 2013
This time last year (May 2013) I was in India. First Makaibari Estate, then a few days in Darjeeling town proper.
This is the Mahakal Temple on Observatory Hill in Darjeeling.
This comparison shows the difference in how tea bushes are grown and plucked depending on desired end product.
Left: “two leaves and a bud” make up the majority of good quality loose leaf teas from all origins. The bud and leaves are of similar size. Younger, smaller leaves will keep a greater range of flavor and aroma when processed.
Right: Leaves below the bud are allowed to grow larger so as to yield a larger quantity for CTC (crush, tear, curl) and “dust” grades of tea for teabags. Larger, older leaves, loose the fine flavors and aromas yet provide that deep, dark, black of black tea that is so often desired.
Images from my visit to Highfield Tea Estate, in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, India. May 2013.
All of the tea I’ve consumed in the past month.
White, green, oolong, black, puerh.
China, Japan, Korea, India, Ceylon.
For all of your gas holding needs. Found at the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets, New Delhi. India, May 2013
English messaging in India was sometimes very confusing. New Delhi, May 2013
Excellent Quotes by Warren Buffet, a printed page found in Kurseong, Darjeeling. May 2013
On Earnings: Never depend on single income. Make investment to create a second source.
On Spending: If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need.
On Savings: Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.
On Taking Risk: Never test the depth of river with both the feet.
On Investment: Do not put all your eggs in one basket.
On Expectations: Honesty is very expensive gift. Do not expect it from cheap people.
May 2013. Riding the Toy Train in Darjeeling. It was an exceptionally loud experience with the wheels squealing and the horn blaring through the tiny bends in the journey. Turn your volume up really loud to get the full experience.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)