Golden needles, purple tea: Women-led estate shines in Arunachal 

For over two centuries, tea has been synonymous with Assam, home to more than 800 plantations and thousands of small growers producing around 700 million kilos of the beverage annually. This accounts for about half of India’s total tea output. Now, neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh is venturing into the tea trade, with the Donyi Polo Tea Estate leading the way.

Snuggled on banks of the Siang river and flanked by Daying Ering Wildlife Sanctuary, this estate is among the first in Arunachal to cultivate tea sustainably. The 420-hectare plantation, owned by Omak Apang, was originally started by his mother, Yadap Apang, in 1985. “My mom had a dream to start the tea estate, like mothers desire for children. And I built on it,” Apang said.

The tea garden stands out for having found a way to coexist with nature, with 420 hectares of tea plantation and 320 hectares of social forestry and farming, and breaking free from the crush-tear-curl (CTC) manufacturing model.

“There are set standards tea bodies should conform to, from maintaining a set temperature to certain physical/chemical characteristics to ensure fast production in CTC,” explained Manoj Kumar, a senior tea consultant at the estate.

Sip of innovation

Specialty teas from Donyi Polo, like golden needles and purple tea, have set auction records. At the core of this success is an all-woman team of about 10 rural plantation workers from Assam, led by Junmoni Gogoi.

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Gogoi, in her 50s, oversees the partially handcrafted facility and manages the intricate processes required to produce these teas.

The artisanal centre, an Assam-type building with a whitewashed exterior and reddish-black interior, houses three machines imported from China and Japan. Gogoi meticulously sorts freshly plucked tea leaves, ensuring they are aerated in withering troughs from all sides using large ventilators.

“You have to be careful about plucking in the case of artisanal teas. The branches have to be too small, an inch mostly, the leaves longer, and the buds young. For CTC, they are not strict about the buds. Any bud will do, even the older ones,” she said.

Each day, 80-90 kg of hand-plucked leaves arrive at the unit, compared to an average of 10,000 kg in CTC factories. 

“The workers here juggle their CTC working schedules and processing in the artisanal centre. I look after the artisanal centre full-time,” said Gogoi, who is from Assam’s Dhemaji district and has been working in the tea garden for about 30 years.

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She works at the artisanal centre from 7 am to 4 pm. “The plucking season lasts from April to July, with May being the busiest month,” she said.

Brewing success

After plucking, the leaves are transported to a factory trough where they undergo withering for 12-17 hours following the orthodox process of making tea, making them bendy and easy to roll without breaking them up using a rolling table. They are then spread on the continuous fermenting machine (CFM) for oxidation. This stage, lasting one to three hours, allows the enzymes in the tea leaves to react with oxygen, changing their colour from green to coppery brown colour. After the tea leaves have been oxidised, they are passed through hot dryers, bringing the moisture content to 3 percent, making them ready to be blended, sorted and packed.

“Drying takes at least two hours, and the oxidised tea leaves are passed through heat at 70-80 degrees usually,” said Gogoi. “The temperature depends on the specialty tea,” added Manoj.

Different specialty teas require various levels of oxidation and processing.

“White tea is the least processed tea. Tea leaves have to be withered for three hours, that’s the only process. There is no oxidation in green tea,” Manoj said.

Since 2018, Donyi Polo Tea Estate has fetched record-breaking prices at Guwahati Tea Auction for its golden needle and purple tea, selling for Rs 40,000 and Rs 25,000 a kilo, respectively. The plantation produces 15,000 kg of specialty tea and 1.5 million kg of CTC tea annually.

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“We make most of the money out of specialty teas such as white, green and golden tippy. There is a demand for light liquor orthodox tea in Europe and strong orthodox in Russia,” Manoj said.

Crafting new legacy

Despite the success, Omak believes the prices should be higher for the work involved. “Fair and better prices can ensure women empowerment for all the hard work that goes into making such teas,” he said.

The money from artisanal teas, which fetch expensive rates, is split 60:40, with the first part going to the salaries of the artisanal tea makers and the rest towards the socio-economic development of the workers. Gogoi earns Rs 10,000-Rs 12,000 for running the artisanal centre. Urmili Pati, who helps out at the artisanal unit, earns a monthly income from CTC tea plucking.

“I help Junmoni baideo (sister) with responsibilities like rolling and drying since she can’t manage alone. Many women are too tired after morning plucking for the CTC unit, and I often cover for those who are sick,” she said. “I stay after my regular duty hours of making CTC tea.”

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Gogoi and Pati, from Gogamukh in Assam’s North Lakhimpur district, are paid extra for the hours spent on machine operations, sorting, and packing artisanal teas. The team is a testament to the evolving tea industry in Arunachal, blending tradition with innovation and creating a brighter future for their community.

The lead image on top shows a tea-tasting event at the Donyi Polo tea estate artisanal centre in Arunachal Pradesh. (Photo by Aatreyee Dhar)

Aatreyee Dhar is a Village Square Fellow 2023-24. She works as an independent journalist in Assam.