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Kangra tea (Himachal Pradesh, GI) Photo: placeholder pending image-fill pass

Kangra tea (Himachal Pradesh, GI)

Kangra tea is a Geographical Indication (registered GI No. 102 in 2005) covering tea grown and manufactured in the Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh — chiefly Palampur, Baijnath, Dharamshala, Bir-Billing and parts of Jaisinghpur tehsil, between 900 and 1400 m elevation in the lower Dhauladhar foothills. Tea was introduced here by William Jameson in 1849 and the region produces both green and black teas, with green tea (mainly steamed/Japanese-style and pan-fired Chinese-style) accounting for roughly half of the output.

Region and bushes

The Kangra plantings are almost entirely [[tea-camellia-sinensis-china-type|China-type]] bushes propagated from seed and from a handful of locally selected clones such as Kangra Jat selections evaluated by CSIR-IHBT Palampur. Soils are acidic, sandy-loam, well-drained, derived from Dhauladhar gneiss; rainfall averages 2,000-2,500 mm with sharp winters (frost down to −2 °C) and a March-November growth season.

Key characteristics

  • Geography: Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh (some tea also in Mandi and Chamba); ~2,300 ha planted, ~1,000 t made tea/year
  • Bush type: small-leaved China jat (Tea Camellia Sinensis China Type)
  • Manufacture: orthodox black tea and pan-fired/steamed green tea
  • Liquor: light-bodied, pale infusion; sweet-floral notes for black, grassy/chestnut for green
  • GI proprietor: Tea Board of India (sole registered proprietor)

Manufacture

Black tea production follows the orthodox route (Tea Orthodox Vs Ctc Processing) — long withering (16-18 hours), gentle 35-40 minute rolling, light oxidation (90-110 minutes) and fluid-bed drying. Green tea is made by either (a) the Japanese steamed-leaf process (steaming 60-90 seconds to denature polyphenol oxidase, rolling, pan-drying) or (b) the Chinese pan-fired process (initial dry-pan fixation at ~280 °C, rolling, basket-firing). Both yield a needle-like, jade-green leaf with the chestnut-floral notes typical of high-elevation Chinary teas.

Quality and market

Kangra teas are consumed largely within India (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore packet trade) and exported to Germany, Russia, the UK and Japan. Auction averages for top Kangra orthodox have crossed ₹1,000-3,000/kg at Kolkata, while green teas move mostly through ex-garden private sales. CSIR-IHBT operates a Kangra Tea Park at Palampur and provides extension to about 5,800 small growers who collectively own most of the area.

Challenges

The valley is constrained by Tea Blister Blight Exobasidium (cool, misty climate favours epidemics), labour shortages, ageing seedling bushes, and competition from Kashmir-bound packet teas. Productivity is low — about 400-600 kg made tea/ha — compared with Assam's 2,000+ kg, but the GI premium and green-tea diversification cushion smallholders.

See also: Tea Camellia Sinensis China Type, Tea Darjeeling First Flush Gi, Tea Orthodox Vs Ctc Processing, Tea Blister Blight Exobasidium, Tea Assam Orthodox Second Flush Gi.

References

  1. Kangra Tea — Geographical Indication Registry, Government of India. https://search.ipindia.gov.in/GIRPublic/
  2. CSIR-IHBT Palampur — Tea Research. https://www.ihbt.res.in/