Assam tea estates: stays, seasons and tastings

Plucking is done by hand, almost always by women, who pick the top two leaves and a bud and toss them into baskets carried on their backs. The bushes are pruned to waist height to make this easier and are rested in winter. Leaf is weighed in the field and taken to the factory, where processing begins within hours.

In the factory, leaf is withered on long troughs to reduce moisture, then rolled or cut. Most Assam estates produce CTC tea, short for crush, tear, curl, which turns leaf into small granules for strong, quick brews and tea bags. Some estates also make orthodox whole-leaf tea, rolled more gently to keep the leaf intact. The leaf is then left to oxidise until it turns coppery, dried in hot air, sorted into grades and packed.

A good factory visit follows this sequence, and the smells change at each stage: grassy in the withering room, sharp and fruity in the rolling room, warm and toasty at the dryer. Ask to see the sorting and grading, where the names on tea packets begin to make sense.

The year's tea comes in flushes, periods of new growth. The table shows the broad pattern on Assam estates, which varies with weather and estate.

For tea itself, March to May is the best time: plucking is under way, factories are busy and both first and second flush can be tasted fresh. March and April combine this with comfortable weather and an open Kaziranga, which makes them ideal for a combined journey.

For comfort, October to April is best across Assam. Autumn brings clear skies and an active autumn flush. December to February is dry and pleasant, but bushes are pruned and factories largely idle, so the experience shifts from production to the landscape, the bungalow and the birds. The monsoon months are lush and productive, with heavy rain and high humidity, and we rarely recommend them.

The weather in the gardens follows the plain rather than the hills. From December to February, mornings are misty and cool, around 10 °C, and afternoons are sunny and dry, perfect for long walks between the rows. By April, afternoons reach the low thirties and thunderstorms roll in from the south. From June to September, the gardens are at their greenest and most productive, but rain and humidity make walking hard work. If you want both tea activity and comfort, aim for the second half of March or the first half of April, and plan garden walks for early morning, before the heat.

The bungalows built for British and later Indian planters are a distinctive architectural type: raised on brick or timber stilts against floods, with wide verandas, high ceilings, wooden floors and large gardens. Some estates have restored theirs for guests, and staying in one is quite different from a hotel. You eat in a dining room at set times, sit on the veranda at dusk, and see the estate's daily rhythm close up.

Our choice is Wild Mahseer, in the Addabarie tea estate at Balipara, about 30 km north of Tezpur. Its heritage bungalows are spread across lawns among old trees, with good beds, home-style Assamese and Anglo-Indian food, and an estate team who lead walks and tastings. It sits close to Nameri National Park and the start of the Tawang road, and about 2.5 hours from Kaziranga, which makes it easy to fit into most Assam journeys. Other estates in upper Assam, around Jorhat and Dibrugarh, also open bungalows to guests, with varying standards; we visit before recommending any.

Bungalow life has its own rhythm. Breakfast is served on the veranda as pluckers move into the gardens, lunch is often a long, slow meal of rice, dal, fish and seasonal vegetables, and tea at four is an institution. In the evening, the lawns go quiet, frogs and crickets take over, and dinner is served by lamplight in the old dining room. It is a pace that suits couples and anyone who wants a few days with very little to do.

A typical two or three night estate stay includes:

• A morning garden walk with a member of the estate team, watching plucking in season and learning how bushes are pruned and shaded.
• A factory visit following the leaf from withering to grading, during the plucking season.
• A tasting of the estate's teas, comparing flushes and grades and learning to judge leaf, liquor and taste.
• Time on the veranda and lawns, with birdwatching in the shade trees, where hornbills often pass.
• Nearby outings, such as a forest walk or river float at Nameri, or Tezpur's hill and riverfront.

Assam's estates were built on labour brought from central and eastern India in the 19th century, often under harsh conditions, and their descendants, the tea tribes, still make up most of the workforce. Wages, housing and health have been long-running issues, and visitors should be aware of this history. A good host will speak about it openly. Respect workers' time and privacy in the gardens, ask before photographing anyone, and remember that the cheerful image of the tea-plucker on a packet hides hard work in heat and rain.

Buying at the estate means you know exactly where your tea comes from, and prices are often fair. Ask for both orthodox and CTC grades, and for second flush if you want the classic malty Assam. Store tea in an airtight tin away from light and strong smells. A tea taster's tip: brew Assam with freshly boiled water for three to four minutes, and drink it with or without milk, depending on the grade.

Tea also makes an excellent gift, and Assam's estates and Guwahati's specialist shops sell beautifully packed tins and boxes. Look for an estate name and a grade on the label, which tell you far more than a generic description. Some estates offer small quantities of special teas, such as golden tips made from the bud alone, that rarely reach shops outside the state. Prices for these can be high, so taste before you buy, and ask your host which teas they drink themselves, which is often the best guide of all.