Ghillidary and Jungpana
Tuesday, July 17th, 2007
One of the highlights of my trip to the 2007 World Tea Expo was getting to talk to the Kejriwal family. The Kejriwal family has owned the Ghillidary and Jungpana tea estates in India for several decades. -What an incredibly hospitable family… The son of Harsh Kejriwal (I wish I knew his name) offered me a sample of their well-known second flush Darjeeling (Jungpana). I know they were there to promote their products, and it was his job to pass out the samples; however, there was just something special about this family. The Kejriwal’s are very proud to call Jungpana “the best” second flush tea in Darjeeling (I believe it was dubbed the choicest). At the same time, they were very modest and wanted to make sure I tried the tea to allow the tea to “speak” for itself. After trying literally 20-30 teas that day, I still remember the Jungpana. It was easily the most memorable tea of the entire show for me. Ghillidary is their Assam estate, and Jungpana is their Darjeeling estate. I was fortunate enough to get to try both varieties. The Jungpana tea was my favorite. It had the unique natural freshness that your body welcomes and craves. I drink a lot of great tea, but every now and then one just stands out. Now, it had all the characteristics of a lot of other Darjeeling teas, but it had a purity about it. Once you taste it, your senses are almost instantaneously heightened. I tried the Assam CTC when I came back from the show. I’ve never been a big fan of CTC tea, but I followed their advice (30 seconds steeping time with a drop of milk) and the tea was excellent.
I want to thank the family members at the booth for sharing their enthusiasm and tea with me. I was inspired by their courtesy and hospitality. If I ever get the opportunity to tour India’s tea gardens, I hope to visit one of the famed tea estates owned by the Kejriwal family. If you see their teas being offered from a trusted tea supplier, I highly recommend it.
marTEA