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Alice A Newton Photography

Tea-ism

While visiting the tea growing area in the Western Ghats of India, we could see the harvesting and processing of the leaves from the tea trees. And yes, they are trees that are kept short for the production of leaves. The intensive labor of picking the leaves is only the first step in the process and helps to bring the wide variety of teas we savor.

Tea Plantations in the Western Ghats of India

We visited the Tea Museum where we saw the manufacturing process

To bring us a wide variety of teas we all so enjoy

And had a formal tea tasting experience

Then we headed out into the tea plantation for an afternoon trek

The higher up the mountain, the better the quality of the tea

Tea plantations were spread along the hills of Kerala and the neighboring states

The tea trees are kept short so the leaves are more easily harvested

Every ten days the tea leaves are harvested from the trees

Only women harvest the leaves as they are thought to have the needed patience

The women use large shears with a bag attached for collection of the leaves

Sometimes the women work by themselves

Other times the women work in groups

Only the leaves from the top part of the tree are harvested

But most often they work on the steep sides of the hills

The roots of the tea trees are massive and go deep into the soil

Each woman is expected to harvest 100 kilos of leaves per day

The hot, hard work is broken with breaks under the shade of the trees

Every chai walla had their own method of preparing the tea

It is part ceremony and part tradition

© Alice A Newton Photography