How Seasons Shape the Character of Nilgiris Teas
The changes in the rain and shine ensure that soil remains fertile and water cycle and ecological factors stay almost balanced though there are little bit differences in each changing season
Ooty: For tea aficionados, every cup of Nilgiri tea carries the whisper of its misty hills and its seasons. ‘Where tea is warm, the hearts are warmer’. Though the Nilgiris is known for its enjoyable cold weather, the Nilgiri tea reflects the warm-hearted and hospitable Nilgirians.
Be it winter, spring, summer or autumn, the seasons in a calendar year are important as they regulate the climate of the earth, drive natural ecosystems and govern agriculture and lives on earth. Indeed, seasons guide farming schedules, determine the cultivation and harvests. The changes in the rain and shine ensure that soil remains fertile and water cycle and ecological factors stay almost balanced though there are little bit differences in each changing season.
Tea, a bushy plant, now a herb for its medicinal properties, is not an exemption to the season variables and impact. ENR Vejayashekara, general manager at Billimalai tea estate, said that different seasons strongly shape and fashion tea cultivation, influencing the bush growth rates, biochemical composition, yield volumes and distinct flavor profiles of the harvested leaves. Tea growth in a particular season is known as tea flush. The tea flush is a season of new growth of tea leaves in a tea plant and the resultant harvest comes from it.
Different seasons and the prevailing agro-climatic conditions specific to different seasons generally change the speed at which the tea leaves grow. Generally, in the Nilgiris, the slow growth after the winter seasons is a delicate floral tea. The salubrious summer warmth in the Nilgiris gives a fuller and fruitier aroma to tea leaves, the monsoon and autumn season gives a mellow tea and the winter frost gives intense aroma. During monsoon, the tea leaves grow fast and large. It will have more volume than finesse that make the monsoon harvest best for strong "Nilgiri Chai". Though there are minimal changes in the aroma context due to seasonal weather and rain impact, the core flavor, strength and colour almost remains. Tea at higher altitudes like the Nilgiris matures slowly with lower yields, which leads to higher quality. While harsh winter slows down the growth of tea leaves, in the carefully protected tea gardens the winter-harvested or frost-touched/laced tea leaves would produce a different aromatic tea which make up for signature frost-tea from the Nilgiris, Vejayashekara added.