Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World's Greatest Tea
    Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World's Greatest Tea
    Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World's Greatest Tea
    Ebook583 pages7 hours

    Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World's Greatest Tea

    By Jeff Koehler

    3.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Darjeeling's tea bushes run across a mythical landscape steeped with the religious, the sacred, and the picturesque. Planted at high elevation in the heart of the Eastern Himalayas, in an area of northern India bound by Nepal to the west, Bhutan to the east, and Sikkim to the north, the linear rows of brilliant green, waist-high shrubs that coat the steep slopes and valleys around this Victorian “hill town” produce only a fraction of the world's tea, and less than one percent of India's total. Yet the tea from that limited crop, with its characteristic bright, amber-colored brew and muscatel flavors - delicate and flowery, hinting of apricots and peaches - is generally considered the best in the world.

    This is the story of how Darjeeling tea began, was key to the largest tea industry on the globe under Imperial British rule, and came to produce the highest-quality tea leaves anywhere in the world. It is a story rich in history, intrigue and empire, full of adventurers and unlikely successes in culture, mythology and religions, ecology and terroir, all set with a backdrop of the looming Himalayas and drenching monsoons. The story is ripe with the imprint of the Raj as well as the contemporary clout of “voodoo farmers” getting world record prices for their fine teas - and all of it beginning with one of the most audacious acts of corporate smuggling in history.

    But it is also the story of how the industry spiraled into decline by the end of the twentieth century, and how this edenic spot in the high Himalayas seethes with union unrest and a violent independence struggle. It is also a front-line fight against the devastating effects of climate change and decades of harming farming practices, a fight that is being fought in some tea gardens - and, astonishingly, won - using radical methods.

    Jeff Koehler has written a fascinating chronicle of India and its most sought-after tea. Blending history, politics, and reportage together, along with a collection of recipes that tea-drinkers will love, Darjeeling is an indispensable volume for fans of micro-history and tea fanatics.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury USA
    Release dateMay 12, 2015
    ISBN9781620405147
    Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World's Greatest Tea
    Author

    Jeff Koehler

    Jeff Koehler is an American writer, photographer, traveler, and cook. His most recent book, Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World's Greatest Tea, won the 2016 IACP award for literary food writing and the Gourmand Award for Best in the World for a tea book. Other titles include Spain: Recipes and Traditions, named one of 2013's top cookbooks by the New York Times; Morocco: A Culinary Journey with Recipes; and La Paella. His work has appeared in Saveur, Food & Wine, NPR.org, NationalGeographic.com, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Afar, Fine Cooking, Tin House, and Best Food Writing 2010. After graduating from Gonzaga University, he spent four years in Africa and Asia before doing post-graduate work at King's College, London. Since 1996 he has lived in Barcelona. jeff-koehler.com @koehlercooks

    Read more from Jeff Koehler

    Related to Darjeeling

    Related ebooks

    Asian History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Floral Blends

      Jan 26, 2021

      Floral Blends
      1 min read

    • Article

      Antoni Porowski

      Sep 2, 2021

      Antoni Porowski
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Indian Tea Party

      Jul 1, 2023

      The Indian Tea Party
      3 min read

    • Article

      Precious Brews

      Feb 17, 2023

      Precious Brews
      3 min read

    • Article

      New Wine In An Old Teacup

      May 15, 2021

      New Wine In An Old Teacup
      2 min read

    • Article

      Home Brew

      Apr 9, 2021

      Home Brew
      3 min read

    • Article

      Steeped In Tradition

      May 24, 2022

      Steeped In Tradition
      5 min read

    • Article

      The ART of the JAPANESE COCKTAIL

      Jun 15, 2021

      In 2018, Masahiro Urushido and his business partner James Tune opened Katana Kitten, a Japanese-American bar on Hudson Street in New York City. The name reflected their unique approach to mixology—katana being a samurai sword, embodying “an almost my

      4 min read

    • Article

      Tinker Coffee Co.

      Dec 25, 2020

      Tinker Coffee Co.
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Monk’s Elixir

      Mar 28, 2017

      We’ve all heard romantic backstories about strange and foreign liqueurs—tall tales of rare and obscure ingredients or ancient and arcane distilling practices. “Did you know that this Alpine schnapps is made with a rare mountain flower that only bloom

      3 min read

    • Article

      Tea Caddies

      Oct 26, 2021

      Tea Caddies
      4 min read

    • Article

      On Display

      Mar 18, 2024

      On Display
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Eastern touch

      May 21, 2021

      The Eastern touch
      5 min read

    • Article

      Stir It Up

      Oct 28, 2023

      Stir It Up
      7 min read

    • Article

      Town & Country Notebook

      Feb 21, 2024

      1) Which naturalist lived at Selborne in Hampshire? 2) What did the Rosetta Stone enable experts to read for the first time? 3) By what name is the shallow nest of the hare known? 4) Who is the patron saint of Ireland? 5) The characters Bigwig and Fi

      4 min read

    • Article

      Autumn In The Orchard

      Sep 23, 2021

      Autumn In The Orchard
      5 min read

    • Article

      Wandering With Wayside Weeds

      Aug 20, 2014

      Wandering With Wayside Weeds
      4 min read

    • Article

      Urban Tea Tales

      May 18, 2021

      Urban Tea Tales
      16 min read

    • Article

      Another Bite Of The Cherry

      Jul 19, 2023

      Another Bite Of The Cherry
      6 min read

    • Article

      A Rich History To Pore Over

      Oct 14, 2020

      A Rich History To Pore Over
      3 min read

    • Article

      Steeped in Splendor

      Aug 11, 2020

      Steeped in Splendor
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Darjeeling

    3.5/5

    12 ratings4 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      An extremely thorough coverage of all things tea, with a strong concentration on Darjeeling tea. What it is, where it comes from, how it is prepared, why it is different than other tea. A history of tea, India and the British rule of India. The effect of terroir on tea, the status of the tea industry and the tea-growing regions of today. What the future may hold for the Darjeeling area, and why. You will come away with a new found appreciation of your morning tea!
    • 4/5
      Finished this last night and it was a solid 4 star read for me. It might have been 4.5 save for a dull chapter or two on the colonial history between India and Great Britain. Lots of names, dates, and skirmishes, with back-and-forths between time periods that just made my eyes glaze over. But at 19 chapters, the book had plenty of chapters to make it up to me, and it mostly did.Written in a ‘feature article’ style, the author frames the book and its chapters within the tea-picking seasons, called flushes. Spring flush, second flush, monsoon flush and autumn flush, tying the trajectory Darjeeling tea finds itself into the advancement of the seasons. These ‘preludes’ to the chapters are written in a flowery, evocative style that mostly works, although at times seems to try a tiny bit too hard.In general terms the book set out what it meant to do: educate me about tea. As someone whose circulatory system is, at any given time, roughly 75% tea, I was shockingly ignorant about my life’s blood, so the book was destined to succeed. I knew nothing about CTC vs. orthodox teas (CTC is the mechanical process of cut, tear, curl, while orthodox tea is still almost entirely hand processes) and while I’d heard of Darjeeling tea, of course, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you it’s considered the world’s best tea, or that the vast majority of it is certified organic. The importance when it’s picked has on its taste is also going to make it easier for me to find my go-to black teas; I’m pretty sure I’m a solid spring-flush kind of girl.But what the author really succeeded in, was convincing me of the inherent romance surrounding the growing of teas in spite of all the challenges and barriers: the climate changes, labor issues and a fraught political climate in West Bengal. He touches on all of them in some depth, describing the ways owners are tackling the first two issues and trying to survive the fall out of the third, but still, it’s almost impossible not to imagine these tea gardens as romantic.If nothing else, the book succeeded as a marketing tool: midway through I found myself online ordering 100g of a tea called “Gold Darjeeling” described by the Tao of Tea as a Light Black Tea, with a smooth, buttery, honey texture. Full-bodied brew with pleasant rose, muscatel grape-like aroma. I’m off two minds about my hopes for this tea: of course I want to like it, but given that you can only buy it by the gram, not so much that it ruins me for all the other black teas out there. Although, as long as I drink iced tea, I doubt I’m in any real danger of becoming the tea snob.
    • 4/5
      I chose Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World’s Greatest Tea because as we all know, I love learning about all things Indian. Also, they drink this tea on Downton Abbey and I was curious about how an Indian tea came to be popular in England – if the characters on that show drink it, it must be good tea!The history of the tea is fascinating. It arrived in India in a dramatic fashion – being stolen from China. Today the tea is grown in tea gardens, which are really huge plantations. The relationship of the tea garden workers to the owners is a totally different arrangement from anything I’ve ever heard of before. This book also touches on the state of Darjeeling tea today. The regulation process needs some work – there is a lot of fake Darjeeling tea out there.Koehler goes into a lot of detail about the physical properties of the tea and how it’s grown and harvested. This part didn’t interest me nearly as much as the history aspect of the book but that’s probably because I’m not much of a tea drinker myself. Incidentally, I tried some Darjeeling tea for the first time after finishing this book and I thought it was really good. I don’t care much for regular black tea so I think there must truly be something special about it.I listened to the audiobook version of this book. The narrator had a mellow voice with just a touch of an Indian accent that made it a pleasure to listen too. The only thing I didn’t like was that he used a full-on Indian accent when reading a quote from an Indian person. It seemed odd to do that for a non-fiction book.I really enjoyed learning about a tiny subset of Indian culture that I knew nothing about before. I think tea drinkers of all sorts will enjoy it as well.
    • 4/5
      Normally, it’s animals that tie a farmer to the land. You can’t leave for a day. Vegetables and fruit are far less demanding on an hourly basis. Unless you’re taking about tea, where the finest has its own universe of rules. The greatest teas come from Darjeeling, a quarter of the way up the Himalayas. They are harvested daily (every bush must be plucked at least weekly, March through November). The harvests are different, according to the cull, the weather, the time of year, the humidity and even the phase of the moon. They must be processed immediately, and stopping a process is a minute to minute judgment based on smell and feel. Great tea is as labor intensive as it gets. The pay is lousy, and the life is isolated. And yet, once given the opportunity to be a planter in Darjeeling, people tend to stay for life.Tea is naturally a tree, and will grow into one unless constantly trimmed and plucked (harvested) to keep it low enough for workers. Imagine hundreds of acres of bonsais, and you can imagine all the attention needed to keep everything producing daily. All tea comes from one plant. It’s the way the planters process them that makes tea white or green or black, sweet or smoky, heavy or light.These are the ingredients Jeff Koehler stirs into Darjeeling, an endlessly entrancing journey from smuggled seeds to world record auctions. The topography is unforgiving, the climate(s) fearsome, and the workers horrendously underpaid in a feudal system set up by the British. That anything comes of it at all is a mystery. Yet the brand is so powerful, five times as much Darjeeling tea is sold as can be produced.For some reason, farms acquired the name tea garden, even though the average “garden” is 553 acres and produces 220,000 pounds of tea. There are 87 tea gardens in Darjeeling, with 58 certified organic. There are four “flushes” per year, as the leaves are physically different spring, summer, monsoon and fall. “Darjeeling” is now protected like any high quality international geographic brand. Still, 80% of the Darjeeling tea in stores is doctored if not entirely counterfeit. In Germany for example, it is perfectly legal to blend 50% other tea and still call it Darjeeling.The process of making tea uses no chemicals. First they wither. Then rolling the leaves causes a breakdown in the cell structure, inducing fermentation. Stopping the fermentation is a matter of quick drying, and the leaf’s condition is set until soaked. (Zero fermentation leads to green tea.) Getting it off the mountain is another challenge, as is dealing with 40% absenteeism. It all makes for a real education and a much higher appreciation of that simple cup of tea.David Wineberg

    Book preview

    Darjeeling - Jeff Koehler

    24^book_preview_excerpt.html}ɒWݯ,Ep6%P ARXmm^x>ч VP-LլOKtι{d&$"2p>}om*}S]hvŮK] T <.솾ӯ~]S~ϛzmoy\CZ?}{l?p{]=-X?ű_˱?=db8e*G=G}׌]Ox/~~oMՆt됏!W5nM.xG?G??:wgG؋oIC.ƒq~O]פ6c{Ϧ/~7OMЌÁg>}_7k>c}ϻ}=\.Hb?Uܧpi*37>uӿSo=m.祯aw০OC}ݾӴoTc!R+Xo+}6+x;L{,l-3=NXCi_5C_mXrp]چ{ƒ㍥b5 ?@|MWh4.c+¬ߍ8ǫÇ,cmJ8qE:p` 1?{i\,{󛻲pT/xbݼ?AߴsuGl?Icν[Èڒ`)q=rkB> |_76oCE\ \X\RWiG]s+,hZ:@GhEM'Eߖ հcm+Gp`/g7Ѕ %ol|9jh/52@"0Rc5c)T. CC׶kQK@FnK& u*Tx:$ʼn Yv#Jf.m؁=X~F SQ|ቒ9{nʭ~j]i+ Eyl.%Y(hT^] KƗ ߇_Apu)\_6f]uy~[^ .G3MPA+. oa2uP`f.$XBiRnVB=IJNבF#v^A!J^.z= ulm(`7>n8\.uAc>հ[4BZnj152I$JPڒsJBrr{Kr}KB+nGOXFIs.> .Yl{ '_wÛmw8I 7!]֛}̊E^h=sǎ[g\a-]sz}PpU?) < D}\ZY7/{ھ'*$%-Jb7kVpԸo@곬a2=pzhf lʀˇIgy~ E 27 LsH!RFp+(Ɠ{BTh#7MyOZOH&l-ғklKqgS8v-!2,Rv ܽWH 5#ȑüKDasDaoMږ74UK h~D/*i{٦^MOK裩 E0JJkddۻ*^pzF<2nJ%@MW xbeۏ@aQuܧ¹pakjxg<@֌6[ 4Tc{ Vگ%ȋ0/а|HײpnqAX*F84`eVt\Fwݐ`r`D+,D> <hXUT{CxhU&x'E7ݰ|8=3XCv&Rl"A뢵3!qGk/.葂嶺O0#ďS1T0 FRA@N0PHD08IUiq?:HI 5u*ލ^xaJz-rb2:.2n.Nޔ*Ƣ bTF"X&-yvDNþãg#͵s " +[:ߘ}[8KRa-[Z>2$Q~B2?dG퟼5|l2x ;n~r 0vXUƗƒԆG!aIzFzX.2DϠ810d\(9^hP&a4d{jx$wL<c,^ОS=d=[G[ngw PID(w' C -ªTrƜpK(%Bm3tgD )>s(Gȵ 㰂7D|_%: 檶gPyb0*D٢~F3ga[.YQ?5譞GE9bz>3^F!tqjMgw+חMJ[fEMpCfr" THtQLa|ˠ|eC:!6X H38 `ݓhMiT!tژ؍CCl7ۑq4/䘹I!!@7ae;vw( IхAxPq]l`oҚɥrE.y8%onFZ}kX H0H<ĩx!SSW4m^m)xl:EZWlkglsl'=y2iǎwL tGڙJ |`(IkR-J  dnLnvQ?>7#^[=xvWO'ό(&" ]F~laxNOPR4-j: Fo)];AHEw'|\<>xÏ⹗gya(VpfWJK'LEbw:;8`['C/a:thh[lh9?e?eЊ` eOn8]zaNx`_e4A1 M4nD?.a<"M %ot+<Ǽ^1lcVmK9.K) Oܝq *.7MRg 0Nc\Nޢ.y򈋄Y=P"pPPTPH"NAdqqoizC`RP@1$AfG)EJ ƳGð YBk&ИS2)>I tkT,+&zt.31=/O:Nx$ gV3"2H#)dKL7[\O_^wb[>½B}[ u[ĐPPZw:f3̷45D?.Ps+bs wj3X ^6%rǁV4w2qh"!3ߗ^lL4Y 0 +KaHpBwYdO b] G<{,pX:Td@XӚ4rϲX 5/IdzICi1tZ+Q ͌+:Pjjeu1#}=+YP0MeerpM GagV*iJ9`"0 ΚV|ƺrQaz{A/f/C9G+92kyZ5a7iqP d$ Wd;8ӎ `=sճւi,6W`p /u%_$nROp3UUWj5y?E"KFQq\~֔-),|1M r--^h4qQANrC뼏V悇(oKAADjɒwh+ fY(VϚ`iCZK{pChݛ8F\ANFШ<$7q{pnRgZ 4l]#](fՇaDL5{lF\ģ?}Nn:'t˔*/"4,P/r܎>c7d^VZ`Ic@N(HC!!!F}YHd/7Y36Bnȫ76# L},tXblee@;n,86DVꆗ e ,^kpir/8)pN3X f yƲ@h-ˬ ~^IMU*q/4kuqbL_HXulVqW# Wqb/`( Ƀq'h@>_=A5g ƻ>L>ۢBS63f f'(C#2NZ3g` Q:ڄރ!ةv4.^ =.CYrxPFȜZ&01Kߪ4!{f ]@lf,aP5^+8L( LDسE&9ŊtebrMUN!X?kl2q[X(~(`=[H Bf@ߕߘ%* 2M͖y1nR.b ϖY"sCV˜FW֥ p|^*aKVs/H$$cXeHte8JDε\3(CA yg>{b0Xja<*'bzgV+!Va +(ҿIQTR-Eb]tQtjXo\Od4-R&̫fp3Y/l}bW~4]Ñit"]͌UoڦMH ^Ic77λAEMIX}|TUX̷ӺgaO>,㯼3sVϲ:H% vSnE-_Fx7 TtLf4(oWLV}$S8{hE6m#KY{U3rV.7@hZ }r#Jj5A]piwUlpwʹDJ$Bo݌R뜩uZ 6flfUZv /FV҆r/]ES)r+2jє &=!6 ?9pc(p[Dx*sIuMZ9qWRPv8ْ^LaS[-R2VU Ͱ6q IQ.dbM Xm-A^T9s(=[f#j²^ңa5H{4/1֞rxYtVjV_<t[.X/h!?p>Eu^\$n$O@_W(h@"71 %7K-#td,j Hu-KH;ӕ\<'4DꢏϬ:S9w/!V3 A?}2N$'T6=;r=:5דOu]~g_wmdU9ώ!}m:CQy`7fOj5 D9C.?:yoG.+ҙs_)41w 9F  x2jlmUؔzg؞qOX[&T.3#뽢#&E+] q>Mk*[/h9MȽ|{Kvf=uY%[` srO'V۰?-YZMVд|mӫrZlW LՅN%0пo:l B?jUy6@xkII%I16d}_~z> 'FU `U!eX=>b7YJrYA vJـAQAUO]0cDE\VKv8 * 9aW\`yK0[Y_[*%.th&`/]e$q[)c ~d @{zT'H_Mﲭds%gej+u`L_-HLb]poewVJJj*nF4@~7t}ϰAFq  Kh$,ҡ{Q bL}%Q[0긧5X[?X=̧R'STªB,bqҝΌ U̘<0SCƗN9b'ڊ^Z0Ɩ@ EGМWTM(u>07xY +onJ&07{k zuLYLY+u̔P;9b/*Ki={WS+l$.aG(4벿8S@S&(ߤܙ L^i!HzJ[tSXagCo HsWhXn/nFk®(,@Vf=욙3yDDWf\dbb'7٦%-YD/c1f;qpL9n-XP_/}`6px0%Gck1 3^C'sLID&p\)vT BSd2U'K#DX["]_Y0u[`(FKY nVz5 * vuoϪkmf{Rͺ*BeW>b\o=dwķ~28ݪ9^buۂ՜`nA*uShp9Wds6Hw9zDG&5wۄjbb1u S w^8-DcJ<7g-sid3ak! ڌX k?̩uiCZS'! ɰdqnᵹJ25W]\Fe*F+*ߗ *a{&2Tz&qp/8~Ni+&2Ώ{gjٯ_<Vv<} 0{b?WC>#QԠLp{^2XO"Df"G9]e<+`;'[6Tif\24mI.'ң{}EuEO1mp\p Q;(=Eh>-Y uU"f5WbЕnF1ж` l X!2Sp7D3Y>gt*C++0E9sI"[9G.VMY"Ui"d`V(USEw1{DSY$s7YWUckL4 !$ sc 7̅|6>AQvcF6$}k䉻|Q1Ni>3{4vy`Z@)<^44fj ;6ldÌ^6,H4i~UnfwnA='8c0R r>cETL1:n$DMѶk{6_jdVvGB*&KZrA=znO.fAէ}VSSf̥[fDyi@GuyOnkY, L88N\6'o pk aȧҘ)J |eVĜ1-yYDK`Oa 4xH>=,$괲AzUaIuq*;D;dݐrA"8(VLm Z;qݖfu.@}u]o][X_UyAGc<L[.g\y{YL6ek1rMQ<6ԬA7ċaHYcJ׽oO!Ef"3긦qK]Lb(q qϲ,BK?pʝQU*@,&TT8^ua%$4r=_n'G=t#l[_V%YKղZ ҈\LM7%Y[rNeSH"$}뜪UL {w|;[FU33b2%De w=<@)*_5!}܄FP$^WJojSoWD#qΡ74Nh,tzىٛ@pIv#d qa#_Т2=aά pSSkލ* &oc$AAZ!K+.P2&Dl荃>RJEJmpŴ?>ÅW68oѴ d=4#K' rV_nTo.g]`84yT)]JGdfڽ٬LAؗZԱ`ٝg!$qJ+֔FMɆ -MELZ?*ʴJq |̢2@؆51c S?}E37<~4G/S`tYW]g9툗8*"% ;:釚,xGU{^_:0F.Ͻ7%ؤ4Aj.},{zUTj,*H6`kzAtx $!}.6(f:X]&.Q bH$T79cRn(uTVwQ֏ta93*(/ ab%OXș`TVx;;P|x#ҩ?x'Kiw-?Ϳ2M_t8Bs` IW KuvMpFyr@J]U3.JJ/!HFR |o#g1.ԫZaDm_*(96d0F3^'`i9d_[hľ#(knieKQ}f~ _ ӭKu,A[ @ k-͸ňleF -xd-O%tnBƢ"·/K8?S5M0p²neP x>m }W}<=$7?E֭,כ4m%y\qqC#5ZlS)fF&3Tȁa>;ʿ~}uPMSʳa}yT:#CUN_[Cjj?H(QxeD?K8\-՟k֓.9L&q9rnu}1}yv׋]+ TL kjV"4ƂM_Z;Op"4S M$#ɯ,aQYNUy 8/Kr)ϓHZaBFHњP4R_~AAKG ~u_YC]zц󣮍6a 2gHE87+ۈ\򮰥:MUup4>0[k& B6ڰzn'AY7e`ԞT=eu̍$>~д€6A-Ƴ$yd.smiBya#9#8y39y2Cle^/aTXˉ\5 aӎ쌽gPw?@\^C%L @}"? 3.7ퟍ-( ~o솽V#g7衜N$5qqQ;hh6" I9,WIrbU!&Z>RƃLhFfX̛4A\o_L+|QM.qٌ nWvT>lZ
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1