AMN / GUWAHATI
Believe it or not a special variety of Assam tea was sold for Rs 50,000 per kg at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) on Tuesday.
The specialty tea, Manohari Gold Special tea, is manufactured by the Manohari Tea Estate in upper Assam’s Dibrugarh district. It was sold by Saurabh Tea Traders of Guwahati.
Last year, the same tea was auctioned for Rs 39,000 per kg.
“This is the highest price any tea has fetched in any auction centre all over the world. The phenomenal price says that quality has no end and tea lovers are ready to pay any price for such innovative and boutique quality tea,” Dinesh Bihani, Development Secretary of Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers Association, said in a statement.
Manohari Tea Estate also said that the entire sale proceedings from Tuesday will go to the CM’s Relief Fund for floods.
“The prices fetched during the auction speaks about the quality and also tells that price cannot be a hindrance for quality tea,” the official said.
Owner of the Manohari tea estate, Rajan Lohia, said that the estate could produce only five kilograms of speciality tea this year because of unfavourable weather.
“The weather was not good this year and that affected the industry. Gold tea from our estate is made from the finest clones. It is made from the small buds and not from the leaves. It is a tedious and difficult process,” he said, adding that the buds are plucked early morning during the second flush season in May and June.
A kilogram of Manohari Gold Tea was sold for Rs 39,001 last year, a record which was soon broken by the Golden Needle variety from the Donyi Polo Tea Estate in Arunachal Pradesh which sold for Rs 40,000.