Garden switches from coal to LPG after German complaints - Darjeeling estate first to change drying process after buyers detect unwanted compounds in tea

The newly constructed Vah Tukvar tea factory in Darjeeling. Picutre;Suman Tamang

Vivek Chhetri and G.S. Mudur, TT, Darjeeling, March 31: A tea garden here has decided to switch from coal to LPG for tea processing, the first estate to do so in the hills after some German importers claimed the presence of unwanted chemical residues in Darjeeling tea.

A section of tea growers in Darjeeling, however, is eyeing the German claim with suspicion as they think it could be the importers' bid to create a trade barrier.

The estate that has decided to make the switch from coal to LPG for the leaf drying process is Shri Dwarika tea garden, which sells organic tea under the Shri Dwarika label.

According to German importers, poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and anthraquinone were found in the samples of Darjeeling tea tested in the European country that imports almost a quarter of the 10 million kg of tea that the industry in the hills produces annually.

Tea and tourism are the two wheels of the economy in the Darjeeling hills.

A.K. Lohia, the owner of the Shri Dwarika garden who also owns 11 other gardens the hills, said: "Samples of Darjeeling tea are now being subjected to tests similar to pharmaceutical products, especially in Germany. They are now complaining that they are finding anthraquinone and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons in our product. These are not pesticides but basically by-products."

Lohia said the company's in-house research studies had indicated that the residues could be eliminated if coal was replaced by other sources of energy, which is why the garden has switched to LPG.

Sandeep Mukherjee, principal advisor of the Darjeeling Tea Association, said: "If this initiative becomes a success, most of the tea gardens in the hills will probably switch to LPG."

A planter in Darjeeling said: "The acceptable level of anthraquinone is 0.20ppm (parts per million) but as far as poly-aromatic hydrocarbons are concerned there is no rule about its level as far as tea is concerned."

The planter added: "Some buyers in Germany are coming up with all these tests, which we believe is a ploy to create a trade barrier. We fear that they might even come up with other new things in the future so that the Darjeeling tea industry is forced to withdraw the Geographic Indicator status."

The planter said he had seen the test reports sent by the German buyers. "There are no reports yet to show that that tea liquor contains these by-products. The test was done on dry tea leaves."

About 60 per cent estates in Darjeeling grow tea organically without the use of pesticides. The other gardens are in the process of moving to complete organic production.

The Geographic Indicator (GI) status, which Darjeeling tea enjoys, is a label used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.

Some European cheeses and wines have GI status.

Mukherjee said: "I personally feel that the recent scrutiny and complaint about Darjeeling tea is more to create trade barriers. The German buyers are not having any problems with Nepal tea, which is being marketed as Himalayan Tea, despite their tea also being produced with coal."

Coal is used for withering and drying the tea leaves. A planter said during this process the coal probably releases some compounds that are absorbed by the tea leaves.

After tea leaves are plucked, they are withered so that they can be rolled, fermented and oxidised for flavour, then dried and sorted according to grades, the planter said.

The Shri Dwarika tea garden was earlier known as the Vah Tukvar garden, located 15km from Darjeeling town.

Lohia took over the Vah-Tukvar tea garden in 2006 after the garden had been abandoned by the Tea Trading Corporation of India (TTCI), a central government enterprise, in 1995 after it failed to run it properly.

The garden's factory and other infrastructure had been vandalised after it was shut. On March 22 this year, the garden opened its new factory which Lohia said cost about Rs 2.5 crore.

Since the factory is currently running on a trial basis, its managers are still unclear whether LPG will be more or less expensive than coal.

Planters in the hills said that approximately 2kg of coal is needed to produce 1kg of tea.

Mukherjee said that European countries would also have to stop blending Darjeeling tea after 2016.

"The European Commission in October 2011 had registered Darjeeling Tea as a protected Geographic Indication (GI) - the first product from India to get such a status - and given time to existing European blenders a five-year period for the transition in business module," said Mukherjee.

Till 2016, the blenders from EU countries can mix 49 per cent of any tea with 51 per cent of Darjeeling tea and still sell it as Darjeeling tea. However, after 2016, only those packets that contain 100 per cent tea from the hills can be sold as Darjeeling tea.

Lohia's other garden, Chamong is in the process of installing machinery that will replace coal with electricity.