The many trials of making tea

I spent a weekend recently in Kurseong, West Bengal—in the company of tea. Over the course of 48 hours, the weather changed from hot to pleasant to torrential, unrelenting rain. My first morning, however, was clear and cool, and I set out to walk through the Makaibari tea estate. Plucking was in full swing, and I joined in. "Use both hands," calls out Sanjay Das, the estate manager.

- Aravinda Anantharaman

"You missed one," says the plucker near me, pointing to the shoots sticking up. "And there. And there."

I give up.

What can go wrong on the field, I ask Das, and he walks me through a long list of things. Weather, unseasonal rain, extended drought and frost, all of which are now frequent concerns. But there’s more. There are pest and fungal infestations, especially with high humidity, soil and bush health, which depends on how the field has been cared for, and correct plucking—not coarse or overgrown leaves.