Full Cost:
Private Room: $4,900
Shared Room: $4,700
* $500 non-refundable deposit *
Dates:
March 30th - April 13th, 2019
Highlights:
- Nilgiris
- Darjeeling
- Kolkata
ITINERARY
Please note that while traveling in India, we're almost guaranteed to experience unforeseen events that will change our itinerary. Flexibility and patience are your best friends!
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Day 1: Arrive in Bangalore and check into your hotel.
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Day 2: Trip Orientation: Explore Bangalore and attend the trip orientation.
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Day 3: Lecture- Introduction to Indian Teas: Leave Bangalore and head to Coonoor for the first stop on the trip. We will be kicking off our classes with An Introduction to Indian Teas.
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Day 4: Lecture- Cultivation in the Field: Head out to our first tea estate, where we will get hands on experience and knowledge about the cultivation of tea as you harvest alongside experienced tea pluckers.
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Day 5: Lecture - Orthodox Processing: We will begin the day by learning about Orthodox processing of teas where we will visit The Tea Studio. This is where we will get our hands in the leaf and make tea! We will finish off the day with an evening cooking class where we will learn to cook a delicious Indian meal.
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Day 6: Lecture- CTC Processing: Learn about CTC Processing as a contrast to Orthodox processing. We will visit a CTC Factory to help gain a better understanding of how it works.
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Day 7: Time to head to the next destination: Kolkata! After a long day of travel we will be able to sit back, relax, and get to know your new home.
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Day 8: Master Class- Group Questions: Wake up in beautiful Kolkata and spend your first day participating in a Q&A with Nigel Melican. Following this we will get to meet brokers who facilitate direct importing.
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Day 9: Leave Kolkata and head into the mountains of Darjeeling.
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Day 10: Lecture- Biochemistry of Tea: Spend the day in a Darjeeling tea garden where we will learn about the Biochemistry of tea.
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Day 11: Lecture- Cupping: Receive a lesson on cupping and instruction on how to critically evaluate teas.
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Day 12: Leave the mountains of Darjeeling and head to the town. We will settle into your new hotel and have time to explore the legendary tea houses of Darjeeling.
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Day 13: Debrief: Our last day in tea country. We will stay in the home of a tea farmer and learn what it is like to work and live on a tea garden.
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Day 14: Travel from Darjeeling to Kolkata where we will wrap up our time together with steaming hot chai served in earthen cups.
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Day 15: Departures for participants who are not doing the Assam add on.
Testimonials
Danielle Hochstetter (former tea buyer, Peet's, Mighty Leaf, Teforia)
"This trip was absolutely amazing. Traveling with Nigel is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. His scientific background combined with decades of experience and desire to teach makes this an incredibly valuable experience. In the 2 weeks traveling with him, during lectures and outside of lectures, I learned new concepts, confirmed theories, clarified concepts that I was fuzzy on, and had knowledge put in a new context. It is hard to articulate just how valuable this trip was to me. If you are hesitating about going, don’t. Just go."
Amy (Tea Shop Owner and Writer)
"Tasting fresh Darjeeling tea in India was magical. You can read about how tea is processed but there's nothing like seeing it first hand. We were able to pick tea in the fields and follow it through to production. Such an experience! It's nice to be able to share that first hand knowledge with your customers. In addition it makes you a more credible and a reliable source."."
Trip Guides
Nigel Melican
Nigel has 37 years’ hands-on practical experience in the tea industry, as a field and factory trouble-shooter with Unilever, and since 1990 as owner of his tea consultancy company Teacraft, and his specialty tea e-commerce company Nothing But Tea.
Nigel has assisted clients in 28 countries – from green tea in Australia to tea extracts in Zimbabwe – and is proud to boast having manufactured tea on six of the world’s seven continents. He has also just received the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Tea Awards.
Raj Vable
Raj has been traveling throughout India for the last decade and organizing trips for the last three years. He's thrilled to offer others the chance to experience the rural lifestyle that inspires Young Mountain Tea's work. In particular, street-side samosas with scorching hot gingery chai.
Terms and Conditions
- What's Included: In-country accommodations, travel, food, site visits, activities.
- What's Not Included: Round-trip international tickets, visas, immunizations, and travel insurance
- We will be hiking up and down tea gardens as high as 7,000 feet. Many of these gardens do not have paved paths. As such, field days will be physically challenging, so we strongly encourage training in advance.
- Next Steps: $500 non-refundable deposit secures your spot; the remaining balance is due January 30th, 3 months prior to the first day of the trip.
"This trip was absolutely amazing. Traveling with Nigel is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. His scientific background combined with decades of experience and desire to teach makes this an incredibly valuable experience. In the 2 weeks traveling with him, during lectures and outside of lectures, I learned new concepts, confirmed theories, clarified concepts that I was fuzzy on, and had knowledge put in a new context. It is hard to articulate just how valuable this trip was to me. If you are hesitating about going, don’t. Just go."
