India’s Rarest and Most Expensive Tea is plucked under full moon

We all have heard about the Darjeeling tea but don’t know as to why these teas are so special and expensive. The aroma and taste make the tea so good due to which Darjeeling tea is considered as ‘Champagne of Teas’.  

Darjeeling tea is universally recognized as one of the finest and handpicked tea. Its flavor is so unique and exclusive that it cannot be reproduced anywhere else in the world.

According to BBC, the Himalayan region is also home to India’s most expensive and exclusive tea - a rare variety of tea that is only picked under a full moon during the harvesting season. That means just four or five times a year. Isn’t this rare….

This so-called ‘Champagne of teas’ is known as Silver Tips Imperial and it is harvested by people from Makaibari, which is the oldest of Darjeeling's 87 tea estates. A normal 50-gram package of this partially- fermented Oolong tea will cost you something around $30.

According to the Makaibari website, the tea is a ‘relaxing as well as anti-aging liquor’ that can be preferably sipped at bedtime.

People there believe that the alignment of - the sun, moon, and other cosmic forces produces the exact conditions for the finest harvest. This ‘biodynamic’ or you can even call it ‘organic’ tea farm depends on a celestial calendar to make out when to harvest. But generally, the plucking or picking season is from March to October.

Moreover, during a full moon night, the Silver Tips Imperial tea leaves are plucked and packed before daylight to maintain the veracity of its fragrance. A spiritual ceremony is conducted at the sunset with drummers, performers, and prayer chanters’ and this is how the process of picking tea leaves starts and the event has become a popular tourist attraction.

The tea is sipped and enjoyed by rich and wealthy people from all around the world. Sanjay Das, manager of the Makaibari Tea Estate said that ‘the royal family from the Buckingham Palace also uses this tea. Moreover, these teas were there in the recent World Cup. He added that "In 2014 they made the record price of $1850 per kilo."

To conclude, though While Silver Tips Imperial may be the country’s most expensive tea but it is not the priciest tea in the world. China's exceptional Da-Hong Pao tea is worth more than gold, which costs about $1400 per gram.