Tea isn't like sugar or salt. The same garden can make a great batch one week and a flat one the next, depending on the weather, the leaf and how it was made. A famous name on a sack doesn't guarantee what ends up in your cup. So before any lot comes into Swachh Tea, it's tasted three times. Here's what that involves.
Step 1: The garden sample
When a garden makes a new batch, it sends samples to buyers. We brew each one the way it will actually be drunk. For CTC, that means strong, with milk. We look at the colour after the milk goes in, the body, the strength and the aroma, and we note anything that's off, such as a flat, smoky or burnt taste. Most samples stop here.
Step 2: The offer sample
When a lot we liked is actually put up for sale, we taste it again. This check makes sure the tea on offer is the same quality as the sample we first tasted. Teas can be good in the garden and still disappoint by the time they're offered, and this is where we catch it.
Step 3: The purchase sample
Before we buy, we taste a sample from the actual lot one last time. If it doesn't make a proper cup of chai, it doesn't come in, however good the price.
What we're tasting for
- Strength: does it make a kadak cup from a normal spoonful?
- Colour: does it stay rich and coppery after the milk goes in, or turn pale?
- Body: is it full and round, or thin?
- Aroma: does it smell like good tea in the pan and in the cup?
- Freshness: any dull, stale or off notes?
We judge every lot by how it behaves in a cup of milk chai, not by how it looks in a brochure.
After the tasting
The lots that pass are blended and packed in Siliguri. Every pouch carries its packing date, so you always know how fresh your tea is.
Why it matters to you
Tasting three times is slower, and we turn down a lot of tea. But it's how the pouch you buy next month tastes like the one you loved this month. It's the same process our family business, Palak Tea Co., has used for years to supply cafés, hotels and other tea brands across India.
Taste the result in a pouch of Premium CTC Chai, or see how Assam and Dooars teas differ.
