How Darjeeling's iconic tea brand Makaibari blends lifestyle and heritage

Step into a five-star hotel and you will likely find on the ground floor stores selling luxury watches, jewellery, designer labels, et al. But tea?

  Unlikely, but true.

  In September 2024, Taj Bengal in Kolkata opened its doors to Makaibari Bungalow, an experiential store from one of Darjeeling’s iconic tea brands. Occupied previously by Khazana, Indian Hotels Company’s luxury lifestyle store, the 1,500-plus square feet of space in the hotel is now a portal to the world of Makaibari and a tea planter’s life. IHCL is the hospitality arm of the Tata Group that owns the Taj, Vivanta, and others brands.

  A faux fireplace, rugs, a table laid out with tea accessories, not to forget the tea in canisters, go to recreate the interiors of a planter’s bungalow. A set of doors separates the room leading into a make-believe verandah. In the background, the plantation life unfolds with wallpapers capturing the beauty of rolling greens.

  The best way to experience Makaibari is to visit the estate and see how the tea is produced, says Rudra Chatterjee, Managing Director of Luxmi Tea, owner of Makaibari. “Both Makaibari Bungalow and Taj Chia Kutir provide that opportunity. In Kolkata, we wanted to create an environment which reminds people that the tea estate is a way of life, which adds to the experience of drinking tea.”

  The idea is to project tea as a piece of built heritage, not just a beverage, Chatterjee adds.

  Makaibari houses the world’s first tea factory going back to 1859. It was the first to go organic and is among the most premium Darjeeling teas. In 2015, Prime Minister Naren­d­ra Modi presented Queen Eliz­abeth with an award-winning variety from the Makaibari estate on his visit to the United Kingdom. And of course, the preference of Feluda, Satyajit Ray’s fictional super sleuth, for Makaibari is well-known.  

Hooking consumers

  The concept store takes off from the Makaibari Bungalow — a five-room villa atop a hill in Kurseong (Darjeeling district) offering a panoramic view of the tea estate. The Luxmi group property operates under a management contract with amã Stays & Trails, the premium homestay brand from the IHCL stable.

  Adjacent to it, along a winding road, is the Taj Chia Kutir. Set in the Makaibari estate, the project is in partnership with the Ambuja Neotia Group — lease holder of the part of the estate that houses Chia Kutir.  

  The bungalow and the resort offer guests a chance to immerse themselves in the world of tea making. With the store at Taj Bengal, Chatterjee is seeking to bring a touch of a lifestyle associated with tea and its heritage closer to Kolkata, a city of tea connoisseurs. In the process, brand Makaibari engages with consumers in countless ways.

  Thirty to 50 invitations are sent every day to guests who stay at Taj Bengal to experience tea at the Makaibari Bungalow store. There is a bit of the brand Makaibari all around here — from silk napkins to silver teapots. The carpets are from Obeetee and the furniture from Manor & Mews, both subsidiaries of Luxmi Tea Company. But it fuses into the portrayal of a planter’s bungalow life.

  “In some ways, tea has been debased and commoditised. But it is a culture that needs to be demonstrated — the accoutrements around it are part of a lifestyle,” Chatterjee says.

  Last month, Thomas Goode, who created a dinner service for the wedding of then Prince of Wales and Princess Diana in 1981, collaborated with Makaibari to launch a limited edition tea set with 24-carat gold plating at the Makaibari Bungalow in Kolkata. The 21-piece Camellia collection is priced at Rs 4.5 lakh.

  This is the first time that Thomas Goode is collaborating with a tea brand, Chatterjee points out.

  Former Tea Board of India chairman Basudeb Banerjee says: “Rajah Banerjee, the erstwhile owner of Makaibari, was the first major producer to market his tea abroad. Until then, estate owners produced and specialised exporters sold the tea in the international market. He pioneered the concept of single estate tea and the estate name became a brand.”

  Makaibari came into the Luxmi group fold in 2014. The tea group, led by Dipankar Chatterjee and his son Rudra, produces about 27 million kg (mkg) across estates in North India and Rwanda.

  In 2023, Coca Cola India tied up with Makaibari to launch a ready-to-drink iced green tea under the Honest Tea brand.

Reaching out directly to consumers has been a continuous exercise for the group. There are Makaibari stores at airports in some major cities. These are akin to express stores, unlike the unrushed Makaibari Bungalow. 

The buzz is that the next stop for the Makaibari Bungalow experiential store could be Mumbai, as it strives to take the tea lifestyle beyond Bengal. 

  An acquired taste

  In a business-to-business model, where most producers sell in bulk form, there are some companies besides the Luxmi group which are trying to build brands. 

  “We are the largest Darjeeling seller to consumer directly,” says A N Singh, Goodricke Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

  As part of value addition, Goodricke does about 11 mkg of packet tea business — Darjeeling is a part of it. “It is our endeavour to bring more volumes directly to the consumer in the years ahead. Our branding through tea lounges is also helping brand Darjeeling. However, it is an expensive exercise to develop brands,” Singh explains.   

Rudra Chatterjee, managing director of Luxmi Tea

The Darjeeling tea industry is struggling with falling production and exports, and a yawning gap between the cost of production and sale price. Many producers believe that building bands, which requires deep pockets, is impossible. But some are taking baby steps.    

  In the last six months, Jay Shree Tea & Industries has taken its umbrella brand, Bagicha, closer to the consumer. The company is controlled by Jayashree Mohta, elder daughter of late B K Birla.

  “We have started Bagicha carts that serve fresh tea. Currently, it is operating at The Saturday Club and was previously at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club in Kolkata,” says Vikash Kandoi, Executive Director of Jay Shree Tea and Mohta's son-in-law. “We will have more such carts and kiosks. But we need to find niche segments that appreciate Darjeeling tea — it is an experiential product.”

 

A case for promotion

  Finding a home for Darjeeling tea in India should not be a problem. Indian Tea Association Secretary General Arijit Raha asserts. “It is undoubtedly a great product.” 

However, a domestic promotion of Darjeeling tea raising awareness about the product would generate better demand, paving the way for sustainable prices for the sector. 

Traditionally, Darjeeling has mostly been exported. However, the share of exports has come down, resulting in a need to reduce dependence on the international market. In India, most people in Bengal have a penchant for Darjeeling. But the golden elixir — best savoured without milk and sugar — may not have a similar fan following in the rest of the country.

  The story goes that sometime during the first term of the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre, there was a litany of complaints about the tea served at the Parliament canteen. A Tea Board official was summoned by the commerce ministry to address it (the Board is under the ministry of commerce). To the official’s utmost surprise, some members of Parliament came forward to express dissatisfaction about Darjeeling tea and said: “Yeh kya chai hai — bahut phika hai.” They did not like the tea because it tasted too light to them.

  Indeed, the “Champagne of teas” comes with opportunities and challenges alike.