Meghalaya estate unveils world's first Brahma Muhurta tea harvest

Slasha Organic Plantation at Umiam Lake says it is the world’s only tea estate harvesting leaves during the sacred pre-dawn ‘Brahma Muhurta’, blending ancestral traditions with specialty tea production.

ROOPAK GOSWAMI

Shillong, June 30: In the pre-dawn darkness overlooking Umiam Lake, tea pluckers carrying baskets and headlamps move silently through the bushes at Slasha Organic Plantation, harvesting leaves during Brahma Muhurta—the sacred period before sunrise that Indian traditions regard as the most serene and spiritually significant time of the day.

The boutique tea estate near Shillong has introduced what it calls the world’s first “Brahma Muhurta Tea Harvest”, reviving the ancient practice of beginning important activities before dawn and weaving it into the production of specialty tea.

The harvest begins around 4.30 am, nearly 90 minutes before sunrise, when the hills around Umiam are still wrapped in mist and silence. According to the estate, it is the only tea plantation in the world to undertake tea plucking during Brahma Muhurta, bringing together ancestral wisdom and modern tea craftsmanship.

“This is our gift from Slasha Organic Plantation to the world of tea,” said Larsing Ming, Managing Director of Center Point Properties and Slasha Organic Plantation. “We wanted to blend the serene practices of our ancestors with tea making and create something truly unique from Meghalaya.”

The project is being headed by Dr S.K. Pathak, former scientist of the Tocklai Tea Research Institute, while the day-to-day operations of the estate are being overseen by Nalin Modha.

The plantation believes that harvesting leaves during this sacred window allows tea to be produced in harmony with nature’s rhythms. The initiative also taps into growing global interest in wellness, mindfulness and artisanal food experiences.

Nestled on the slopes overlooking Meghalaya’s iconic Umiam Lake, Slasha has earned a reputation for producing handcrafted organic teas and experimenting with unconventional methods to create distinctive teas with a strong sense of place and story.

Tea industry observers say the initiative reflects a broader trend in the premium tea sector, where producers are increasingly looking beyond conventional cultivation practices to create unique identities and value-added products. Concepts such as terroir, seasonality and artisanal processing are becoming increasingly important in the global specialty tea market

While there is little scientific evidence to establish whether plucking before sunrise changes the chemistry of the tea leaf, the idea of harvesting tea during one of the most revered moments in Indian tradition gives the tea a unique narrative that could appeal to specialty tea drinkers around the world.

As dawn finally breaks over Umiam and the first rays of sunlight touch the tea bushes, the day’s harvest is already complete—leaving behind a tea that carries not only the flavour of Meghalaya’s hills but also the mystique of an ancient practice reborn in a modern tea garden.

Also Read: Meghalaya starts program for entrepreneurs; CM hails spirit of entreprenureship

Also Watch

Find latest news from every corner of Northeast India at hubnetwork.in, your online source for breaking news, video coverage.

The men discovering Assam’s hidden tourism goldmines