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Is there a way to rejuvenate tea consumption? Rajah Banerji of Makaibari has a plan. By Moinak Mitra
Undulating sub-tropical trees, indigenous fruit trees, weeds, creepers, ground vegetation-- -you're not on a Lora Croft adventure. It is a tea estate called Makaibari (which translates from Bengali to 'maize land') in the quaintly hilly Kurseong district of Darjeeling, in North Bengal. With 1,500 acres of lush green tea plantations, the estate yields truckloads of green, black and oolong tea every year. Founded way back in 1859 by P.N. Banerji, the estate is now run by his descendent Swaraj (Rajah) Kumar Banerji, who cuts a suitably comic-hero figure, with his bush hat, stiff upper lip (straight from Westham, London) and frequent appearances to the locals---1,700 of them from the seven villages on the estate---as some sort of a philanthrope on horseback. The heroic part? There are 2,00,000 tea estates in the world, across 36 countries, many of them stuck in time. But Banerji's passion is driven by his quest for uniqueness. Makaibari is a 'biodynamic' tea garden. So what is 'biodynamic' tea? "That's a step above organic," claims Srirupa Banerji, Rajah's wife and work partner. Biodynamic agriculture is derived from the "healing the earth" concept first enunciated by Rudolf Steiner, a German conservationist. "The cow is central to this method," explains Srirupa Banerji, "because of its capacity to act as a massive digestor." Makaibari tries to use similar principles of natural balance. Some years ago, the garden introduced 'mulching', a new way to prevent soil erosion; stymie weed growth (without hurting floral diversity on the ground) and preserve soil moisture during drought. Getting good tea is all about getting the right sort of top-soil, and the right sort of moisture and other conditions. More recently, Makaibari started turning its 'preps' (the compost heaps used as top-soil crucibles to be distributed across the land) suitably 'biodynamic' by putting together a special admixture of organisms, herbs and other ingredients, the principal purpose of which is to mimic the natural functions of a living organism in complete harmony with the environment. Is this something that other gardens are doing as well? Darjeeling boasts of several organic tea gardens-among them, Singell, Ambutia and Selim Bong Siok---but none of them has matched Makaibari's 'biodynamic' status, claims Banerji. Is it good for business? In 2002-03, a "bad year", the estate made Rs 2.8 crore on a 75,000 kg tea yield. For a plantation with 650-odd workers and 92 managerial staffers, that's quite good. This year, Makaibari is aiming for 120,000 kg---assuming good rains. Some 80 per cent, as always, will be exported. But is 'biodynamic' tea likely to fetch a premium for Makaibari? Well, to the extent that any good Darjeeling tea does (as tasted and judged in the standard format). The region produces 8 million kg of sophisticated tea every year, though the global market for Darjeeling tea (products sold under this tag) is estimated at 10 times that figure. It is the Darjeeling brew that appeals, more than anything else, largely. But Banerji is dreaming big. Product differentiation, he feels, is the way out of the current tea rut. Organic tea is already being sold by several major tea marketers, and 'biodynamism' could take the idea further. Special flavour tea is also gaining, and this requires specialised tea leaves to begin with. Plus there's more. Makaibari has been selling diabetic and Ayurvedic tea, for consumption in Japan, Germany, England, France and even the US. Value-addition possibilities abound. At the end, of course, the proof is in the actual brew. It has to do its job as a beverage, regardless of the scientific validity of the methods employed to heal the earth.
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