Stirring up a storm in a Darjeeling cup

A new pecking order among India's tea gardens threatens to take shine off premium Darjeeling label

A recent assessment of the country’s tea gardens, threw up a surprise.  Tea gardens in Assam were found to be a notch above the rest, beating even the gardens in Bengal that produce the prestigious Darjeeling tea. Much to the chagrin of tea lovers in the country, none of the 87 Darjeeling tea growing gardens made the A+ grade. While opinion is divided over the extent to which the grade assessments will influence the country’s first ever geographical indicator (GI) tagged brand’s luxury status, there is no doubt that the battle for the brand’s positioning will be fought largely in