The Champagne of Teas

Maya Albanese, sustainable agriculture associate, in a Darjeeling factory.

Back from a trip to India, Rainforest Alliance sustainable agriculture associate Maya Albanese writes…

The mighty snow-capped Himalayas provide an awe-inspiring backdrop to the bright green slopes of Darjeeling, blanketed with rows upon rows of meticulously pruned tea bushes. Here, women in colorful clothes scale the slopes carrying woven baskets overflowing with bountiful autumnal harvests.  Located at the northernmost tip of the state of West Bengal, the Golden Valley of Darjeeling is famous for its high-quality, high-altitude orthodox teas. With just 80 gardens planted in Darjeeling, the harvest is small and special in comparison to other tea growing regions of the world. Production of this “champagne of teas” is high cost and low output, and it commands a premium price on the international market.

Journey to Tumsong

In November of 2012, I had the pleasure of staying on Tumsong Tea Estate, a Rainforest Alliance Certified™ tea garden approximately 5,000 feet above sea level in Darjeeling. Tumsong was planted in 1867 around a temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Tamsa Devi, who is worshipped by the indigenous people of the Golden Valley.  It is said that when you drink the delicate brew of Tumsong — known as “the garden of happy hearts” — you receive the blessing of the goddess herself.

I arrived in Tumsong by plane from Bagdogra airport followed by three hours on a precarious, winding road. As I traveled closer to the heart of Darjeeling, the lines

The Tumsong Tea Estate.

on the faces of the people around me changed dramatically. The majority of the local population is Gorkha (of ethnic Nepali background), and the tea pluckers are almost exclusively Nepali women. You will often see the word “Gorkhaland” above signs in Darjeeling, representative of the desire of some locals to see the region become an independent state.  There are a number of other indigenous ethnic groups in the area, including Sherpas, Bengalis, Anglo-Indians, Chinese, Biharis and Tibetans.

On a clear day, you can see an exceptional view of Kangchenjunga – the tallest mountain in India and the third highest in the world — from Tumsong. It’s proximity to the Himalayas generates a constant, cool breeze, making the tea buds grow gradually and saturating their leaves with a “muscatel” flavor.  This unique flavor, the result of small insects sucking juices from the stems of tea plants, is one of the reasons Darjeeling tea is so prized.

 Harvest Seasons of Darjeeling

In order to understand tea tasting and production better, one must become attuned to a garden’s “flushes” — harvest periods throughout the year which produce varying qualities of tea. Tea is plucked from the same tea bushes and processed with the same methods during each flush, but seasonal climate variations produce distinct flavors.

The first flush takes place in mid-March, after the spring rains have arrived and the tea bushes are a vibrant green color. A cup of first flush Darjeeling tea is light green in color and has a soft floral aroma with a mildly astringent taste.

Tea pluckers bring the autumnal flush to be weighed at Tumsong.

Just before the monsoon season begins in June, the second flush is harvested. A personal favorite of mine, the second flush tea is a bit darker in color with a stronger flavor and a mild fruit taste.

The final harvest, which had occurred just before my arrival at Tumsong, is called the autumnal flush and offers a rounded cup of scents and flavors. Because this flush occurs during the monsoon, the tea leaves are extra-large and make a brew that is coppery in color with the most full-bodied taste of all the flushes.

Protecting Biodiversity

Darjeeling is located in the Eastern Himalayan zoo-geographic zone, home to endemic rare plants like high elevation orchids and endangered animals such as one-horned rhinoceroses and snow leopards. Deforestation is a serious issue in the area, largely due to increasing demand for wood fuel and timber, and air pollution from traffic congestion in the towns.

The Tumsong Tea Factory.

Fortunately, Chamong Ltd — the company that owns Tumsong Estate – is an environmental champion with a strong commitment to sustainability and a number of certifications for environmental and social stewardship.  All of its gardens are managed with minimal to no pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, and several are Rainforest Alliance Certified.

Earning Rainforest Alliance Certification

In order to become Rainforest Alliance Certified, Tumsong went through a rigorous process to meet the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) Standard, which covers waste and water management, integrated crop and pest management, and workers services and rights. It’s a challenging process in Darjeeling, particularly because erosion, pests and blights regularly affect the steep and variable terrain on which the tea is planted. Through collaborative work with the Rainforest Alliance, tea companies like Chamong are working to address these issues in a manner than is environmentally and economically sustainable.

Kanchenjunga Mountain, the third highest mountain in the world.

Enjoying Impeccable Hospitality

One of the best parts of the experience of staying at Tumsong Tea Estate is the hospitality. I stayed in the main tea house or ‘Chiabari,’ a gorgeous colonial mansion with porches facing the Himalayas, cozy fireplaces and a full-service kitchen. Particularly delightful is the tradition of bringing a tray of “bed tea” to your room each morning at the hour of your preference. The hospitality only added to an already remarkable experience in an exceptional setting.

Tourists who are interested in a first-hand experience of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea production in beautiful Darjeeling can reserve rooms at the Chiabari. Tumsong is a three-hour drive from Bagdogra airport in West Bengal and 18 miles from the town of Darjeeling, where visitors can enjoy a ride on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999 and one of the only steam powered trains still operating in the world. 

An Eye-Opening Tour through the Amazon’s Only Black Tea Farm

Back from an incredible trip to Ecuador, Maya Albanese – a coordinator for the Rainforest Alliance’s sustainable value chains team in North America – talks about her experience touring the Amazon region’s only black tea farm.

“How do I get to Palora, Ecuador?” I asked of an Ecuadorian friend during a recent trip to to visit Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms.

Her perplexed response: “What is Palora?”

As it turns out, she wasn’t the only one who had not heard of this tiny jungle town at the cusp of the Amazon in an area of Ecuador known as “El Oriente.” Even my trusty Lonely Planet guide made no mention of Palora.

Why was I looking for this seemingly nonexistent town?  Palora is the site of Hacienda Sangay, a 50-year-old tea farm growing the only black tea in the Amazon region. Certified in 2008, the farm – which has long been committed to responsible production — has been the lifeline of the area for decades. In fact, the town of Palora emerged after the tea farm was established in 1964.

Before I headed off to Palora, I decided to stop by the capital city of Quito for a rest, advice and to locate a driver who could take me to this mysterious place.  I was fortunate to find Carlos, a great driver and soon-to-be new friend, who had passed Palora on drives to Macas, a larger city located nearby.

Carlos and I drove along the famous ‘Ruta de los Volcanes,’ passing towering ice-capped mountains and waterfalls, and the famous hot springs of Baños*.  We moved from one ecosystem to another, until finally the deciduous flora faded away and the forest became greener, the birds more symphonic, the air heavier and hotter, and the road rockier.

When we arrived in Palora six hours later, the streets were completely empty and the restaurants closed, but the one hotel in town took me in for the night.  It was the end of Carnaval, and no one had returned to work yet. I used a local phone to call the tea farm. ‘I’m here!’ I exclaimed.

The next morning, I finally saw Hacienda Sangay and it took my breath away.  Driving past undulating rows of lush green tea plants, I could not help but be distracted by the backdrop of volcanoes, palm trees, vines and tropical flowers.  The farm is impeccably maintained under the direction of Pedro Veintimilla, who has been working and living at Hacienda Sangay for 30 years and is deeply committed to its success and the health and happiness of its workers.

Pedro gave me an outstanding tour of the farm and its processing facilities.  We visited the farm’s hydroelectric plant, which supplies almost all of Hacienda Sangay’s power.  The farm maintains several forests of native trees, which are selectively cultivated to provide all the wood necessary for the tea farm’s operations.  Hacienda Sangay has also eliminated combustible chemicals as part of the certification process, and has replaced the petroleum that runs its harvest machines with oil from local palms.  When I asked Pedro about other changes implemented as a result of certification, he mentioned a reduction in the overall use of agrochemicals, better and safer agrochemical storage, and an emphasis on worker safety when handling these chemicals.  He also mentioned that, since earning Rainforest Alliance certification, Hacienda Sangay has seen the return of many native bird and animal species that had almost disappeared.

The farm is owned by “La Compania Ecuatoriana del Te,” which sells infused and flavored black teas under the Sangay and Horniman’s brands.  It is the largest seller of tea in Ecuador, in addition to being the only black tea producer in the region.

My journey to Hacienda Sangay concluded with a memorable tour around the surrounding area.  Pedro and I visited one of the popular local “playas,” or river banks, where locals gather to swim and picnic.  We watched a pink mother-of-pearl sunset over the volcanoes of Parque Nacional Sangay and talked about the incomparable beauty of the farm and its surroundings.

The farm was a shining example of the benefits of Rainforest Alliance certification in a region with rich biodiversity and precious natural resources.

*Banos is home to two great, green hotels that have earned Rainforest Alliance verification. Check them out at SustainableTrip.org

Slurping for Sustainability: An Exploration of the Specialty Coffee Tasting World

Maya Albanese, coordinator of sustainable value chains for the Rainforest Alliance’s agriculture team in North America, writes about her eye-opening experience hosting the Rainforest Alliance’s 2011 Cupping for Quality in Long Beach, California.

The louder the slurp, the better the cupper — and last week, I was graced with a symphony of impressive slurps. I learned this and many other facts about the intricacies of specialty coffee tasting as the hostess of the Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality in Long Beach, CA.

Maya taking part in the Long Beach cupping.

The main goal of this event was a mission I wholeheartedly support: to illustrate the link between environmental, social and economic sustainability and high quality production in the coffee industry. In various discussions with companies that source from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms, I have heard that their farmers are happier, outputs are larger and crops are of a higher quality.

I arrived at the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) Lab with scoring sheets, aprons bearing the Rainforest Alliance Certified™ seal and boxes of salt-less Saltines. Who beyond the coffee tasting community even knew that those oxymoronic crackers existed?

Previously, I had participated in a few smaller, informal tastings in New York, San Francisco and Seattle, but this event was the real deal Cupping for which I’d been waiting. A select group of top notch tasters, called “cuppers,” were invited to participate in this two-day sampling of coffees from certified producers in Indonesia, India, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Brazil, Kenya, Tanzania and Hawaii. We sampled from these specific origins because coffee harvest cycles vary across different regions of the world. In the spring, we’ll host a Cupping in New York City that aligns with the harvest season of coffees from other well-known origins such as Costa Rica and Colombia.

Two participating cuppers, Adam and Jeff.

The cupper group represented coffee importers, roasters and retailers large and small from across North America, including major Rainforest Alliance collaborators Allegro of Whole Foods, Second Cup and Java City, the supplier of all American Airlines flights.

Each cupper is armed with a special spoon, spittoon and apron, in order to sample about five different coffees at a time. After each round of intense slurping, sniffing and silent contemplation, they record scores for aspects such as acidity, uniformity, aroma and balance. Every session is followed by a roundtable discussion on scores and noshing on salt-less Saltines to cleanse the pallet before the next round of tasting. If you know a bit about wine tasting, some of this may sound familiar to you.

After the first few rounds, I was well on my way to becoming a full-blown coffee geek, thanks to Shawn Hamilton of Java City, who not only gracefully led the cupping but also patiently acted as my coffee professor du jour.

In the specialty coffee world, there are seemingly infinite tastes, patterns, origins and roasting techniques to learn, but dogma does not have a home. As Shawn explained to me, there will always be coffees that shatter your expectations, bringing an unforeseen aroma or flavor from an origin that you thought you knew well. And this is the part that excites cuppers the most: a table of varied tastes from a single origin proves that one can only count on expecting the unexpected when it comes to coffee.

One of the popular coffees.

Peru is one origin that continues to blaze new trails in the industry and amaze connoisseurs of specialty coffee across the globe. During the cupping, some of the best coffees by popular vote came from Peru. Official scores and the winners of the Cupping will be publicly announced in early January 2012.

The bottom line is that a sense of curiosity is absolutely essential to becoming an accomplished taster. So with an open mind, I venture into the specialty coffee tasting world, hoping to become a guru myself, and in the process, influence experienced tasters to embrace sustainability and certification as a means to achieving reliable quality and positive impacts at origin.

Learn more about coffee, conservation and quality on our sustainable coffee website, Seal Your Cup.