I had written about trains and movies sometime back. What I had missed saying then was about the two heritage hill trains in India - one at Ooty and the other one at Darjeeling. If you love trains and long journeys by the window-side, these two are a must. One other jouney I had enjoyed immensely was on a wine train in the Napa Valley.
Well, this post is not about trains, though a paragraph is already spent on it. This one is on the tea, and the finest of them are at Darjeeling. As I was reading this article in the Times of the “Frugal Traveler“, it reminded me of the Nathmulls tea place. One of the oldest trading company in the area, thats the place to go and stock up on the Darjeeling tea. They have all kinds - the expensive ones, the flavorful ones, the ones which are organic and some which are green and good. The young propreitor is extremely polite and delights in answering all kinds of questions. His piece of advice to us - “If you are not a connoisseur of teas, it doesn’t matter if it is the first Flush or the second or even third. And if you like tea, which is dark and strong, then don’t buy Darjeeling. Darjeeling is supposed to mild, though extremely flavorful.”
So with all this advice, we still ended up stocking varieties of the Darjeeling tea. Next time you are there, head to Nathmulls - just be aware that there are two, and the older one is the recommended one.
Shout backs...