Guwahati, June 20: If you were ever wondering, what is the best time to purchase Assam tea?

This is the best time to purchase and stock it up.

This is the second flush time and Assam tea is at its best and prices at the auctions now are very high.

“Assam tea is generally known for its second flush which comes in May-June and is characterised by its boldness and robustness. It is valued for its rich taste and bright liquors,” industry experts say.

The second flush, tippy tea, is sweeter and more full-bodied than the first flush. It fetched a record-breaking Rs 1552 per kilogram at the recent Kolkata CTC auctions on Wednesday, eight days after it fetched the record auction price with one kilogram sold at Rs 1,506 on June 11. These are “exceptional” prices for CTC tea.

The record-breaking Lot No 2, a BOPSM (Broken Orange Pekoe Small) grade consisting of 15 packages, was sold to Asian Tea Corporation through Assam Tea Brokers Private Ltd. This marks the second consecutive week where Hookhmol tea has fetched a record price at the auctions conducted by Assam Tea Brokers.

Hookhmol is a combination of three plantations. All the plantations in the Rajgarh area of Dibrugarh, New Kailaashpur tea estate at Tengakhat, Dibrugarh and Nagajanka Tea Estate at Mariani. The leaf of all three plantations is brought to the factory at Diksam block, Dibrugarh and Hookhmol is manufactured there. Hookhmol is a mark basically.

Bhaskar Hazarika, the director of LK Tea Company, believes in low-volume high-quality models as it suits him. ” To me, quality has more importance than volume,” he says.

“This remarkable achievement is a testament to the exceptional quality of Hookhmol tea and the dedication behind its cultivation and production. It also signifies the growing appreciation for exquisite CTC teas within the domestic market,” Assam Tea Brokers Private Limited’s Director, Nisheeth Bijawat, said.

“This phenomenal success is a powerful indicator of Hookhmol tea’s unparalleled quality and the unwavering commitment behind its growth,” Bijawat also said.

Bijawat said Bhaskar Hazarika, the owner of Hookhmol Tea Estate, is a forward-thinking entrepreneur who refuses to rest on his laurels.

Last year, the tea estate manufactured 4,70,000 kg of tea. This year the company intends to produce 5 lakh kg of Hookhmol tea.

Higher temperatures affect tea yields
A perfect cup of tea requires a convergence of many factors all coming together in the right way. If just one of these is missing, the brew may be compromised. The primary factor in producing quality tea is the plant from which the leaves are harvested. This can be divided into two basic aspects: the type of tea plant, and the health of the plant. While all tea types each have separate characteristics that cannot necessarily be rated as better or worse, the health of the plant is an objective factor in determining quality.

But the tea industry on the whole has not been doing good. “The production figure of the North Indian Tea Industry reflects a precarious state of affairs in the industry, consequent to the constant onslaught of insufficient rainfall and excessive heat, hampering the production of the crop to a great extent during the current cropping season up to May 2024,” says Sandeep Singhania, President of Tea Association of India.

The data released by the Tea Board of India indicates a drop of production of around 8% in Assam and around 13% in West Bengal up to April 2024 as against last year during the same period.

“Due to lack of rainfall and high temperature, the tea growing regions of West Bengal and Assam have witnessed significant wilting of tea bushes, which indicated a further crop loss in the coming months,” Singhania said.

Also Read: MIDC launches Business Facilitation Centre to enhance ease of doing business in Meghalaya

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