Kangra tea

A tea plantation in Palampur.

Kangra tea is a tea from the Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh, India. Both black tea and green tea have been produced in the Kangra Valley since the mid-19th century. Kangra tea was given the Geographical Indication status in 2005.

History

Tea was first grown in the Kangra region in the mid-19th century. After a feasibility survey in 1848 showed the area of being suitable for tea plantation, a Chinese variety of Camellia sinensis was planted across the region. The production turned out to be successful in Palampur and Dharamsala, despite failing in other locations. By the 1880s, the Kangra tea was considered to be superior to tea from other places, and was bought in Kabul and Central Asia. However, the 1905 Kangra earthquake caused thousands of deaths and destruction of factories, forcing the British to sell the plantations and leave the area. In the decades that followed, only small quantities of Kangra tea were produced by the new owners.

After a further decline of produce in the 21st century, research and techniques are being promoted, aimed at reviving the brand by increasing the produce.

Description

Although Kangra cultivates both black tea and green tea, black tea constitutes around 90 percent of the production. As of May 2015, there are 5,900 tea gardens in the area covering about 2,312 hectares of land between Shahpur, Palampur, Baijnath and Jogindernagar; with an annual output of 8.99 lakh kg.

Kangra tea is known for its unique color and flavor. The unique characteristics of the tea is attributed to the geographical properties of the region. It was granted the Geographical Indication tag in 2005 by Office of the Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, Chennai, as per Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

See also

• Darjeeling tea
• Nilgiri tea
• Assam tea