Darjeeling Tea Estates
For growing regions beyond Darjeeling, see Tea Origins to Visit.
Darjeeling is one name for many teas. The garden — the estate — and the picking season change it completely: altitude, mist and soil differ from slope to slope, and the range runs from the green, grassy aroma of a first flush to the ripe muscat of a second. Here are the estates worth knowing.
Kurseong · est. 1885
The byword for top-flight muscatel
Among Darjeeling gardens this one is especially prized for its second flush, and is known for fetching top prices at competitions and auctions. The rich, ripe-fruit aroma called muscatel is Castleton's signature.
Kurseong
Elegant and fruity, and well balanced
The garden is said to be named after Margaret, the daughter of a British owner who fell for the place. The balance of fruit and astringency makes it a well-mannered introduction to Darjeeling.
Kurseong · est. 1859
A pioneer of organic and biodynamic growing
Said to hold one of the oldest tea factories in the world, and known internationally for taking up organic and biodynamic growing early, without chemical fertiliser. It is also known for particular practices such as Moonlight, picked on the night of a full moon.
Kurseong
A remote garden with a concentrated muscatel
On a steep slope, and for a long time unreachable by road — the leaf was carried out by hand. That unsparing setting is said to be what gives its second flush such concentration.
Kurseong · est. 1899
A well-formed, classic muscatel
A long-established garden where you can taste Darjeeling exactly as the textbooks describe it. Lot-to-lot variation from year to year is small, which is part of why it is trusted.
Mirik valley
A large garden with a floral, aromatic style
One of the larger gardens of the Mirik valley. The altitude and the frequent mist give it a reputation for first flushes of delicate, flower-like aroma.
Teesta valley
An old hand with a powerful cup
One of the older large gardens in Darjeeling. Alongside the delicacy there is real weight, and a frame that does not fall apart when you brew it strong.
Rohini valley (Mirik)
High ground, and an experimental streak
Spread across some of the highest ground in Darjeeling, this garden has drawn attention lately for turning out one inventive speciality after another, unbound by what black tea is supposed to be.
Mirik
Delicate, and with a royal anecdote
A garden said to have supplied the British royal household, and whose name is said to come from 'OK-TEA' — tea one could find no fault with. Delicacy and refinement are the point of it.
Mirik
Organic, and floral with it
A garden working with organic and biodynamic methods, with a reputation for clean, flower-like first flushes. It has a following among drinkers who look for that.
These characterisations and anecdotes are drawn from what is generally known about each garden. The cup changes with the year and the lot.