Brazil to kick off World Cup mornings with Darjeeling tea

Arpit Basu, HT, Kolkata, May 06, 2014: Though India will be nowhere near the playing arena in Brazil during the World Cup, tea from the famous Darjeeling garden of Makaibari will kick off the mornings for the players, guests and VIPs of the tournament. The Makaibari Tea Estate, located in Kurseong (around 30 km from the hill station of Darjeeling), is sending a large consignment of tea to Brazil during the World Cup.

The tea from the hills of Bengal is expected to serve at cafeterias, VIP and official boxes in the stadium during the World Cup that begins on June 12 and continues till July 13.

Established in 1859, the Makaibari Tea Estate is one of the world’s oldest tea factories.

The estate spans 670 hectares and has pioneered in organic farming practices in the tea trade.

“Our marketing partner in England, Hampstead Tea and Coffee Company, is exporting consignments from England to Brazil. Hampstead Tea and Coffee is one of the largest tea selling companies in the world that has several notable names in its clientele,” Rajah Banerjee, the owner of Makaibari Tea Estate told HT.

Their high end products such as Royal Camomile, black tea and the first flush are bound for Brazil. One of the world’s most expensive teas Silver Tips Imperial is also in their export list to Pele’s country. The tea cost $40 (around Rs. 2,400) per 100 gms. “We are sending this consignments through our wholesalers so I cannot comment on the exact quantity of the assignments. We export Makaibari tea to 17 countries and I am happy that Brazil is adding to the list and that too, during such a global event,” Kiran Tawadey, an NRI and the founder of the Hampstead Tea and Coffee Company told HT.

This is not the first time that tea from Makaibari will be served at a global sporting event. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics Banerjee sent a consignment of 300 kg of Silver Tips to the Chinese capital.

The tea was exclusively sampled and distributed to the VIP guests there.