At over 8000 feet above sea level the Kolukkumalai Tea estate in Southern India is thought to be the the highest plantation of orthodox tea in the world. Over the years, this beautiful region, with its breathtaking scenery that is only accessible by jeep, has become a popular destination among tea aficionados and travelers alike.
While the details of the origins of the estate are a bit sketchy, it is believed that the Kolukkemalai estate, that encompasses over 300 acres of tea fields, was founded in the early 1900s by British planters. As an orthodox tea factory, the tea that is planted at Kolukkemalai is still hand- picked, rolled, and packaged and the machines used in the factory haven’t been replaced since they were first brought in the 1930s. This old-fashioned method of producing the tea, while certainly more slow and cumbersome for the workers, adds to the complexity in the tea’s flavor and aroma.
Even more so, altitude is one of the main markers for quality when it comes to tea leaves. It might be more difficult to grow tea leaves under the conditions found in this cold, hilly, region, but it is exactly this fact that contributes to a greater complexity of the tea’s flavor. For one, there are far fewer insects crawling about at this altitude. This means that there is far less need for pesticides and natural pest control by the plants themselves, which in turn prevents the taste from becoming bitter.
