Fancy a cuppa? Piyala, Disa, Senehi, hor, Abhilekh, Jyoti...are ready for you to sip at!

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Sept 21: Fancy a morning cuppa? Our own Piyala, Disa, Senehi, hor, Abhilekh, Jyoti and 39 others of their ilk are ready for you to sip at.

All these, numbering 45, are locally produced organic tea brands that are set to add prestige to the already prestigious Assam tea. Though Assam has the oldest-ever history of tea associated with it, yet the state is not faster than its counterparts elsewhere in the world when it comes to farming of organic tea. On this matter we have to take solace in the fact that the saying ‘better late than never’ has many takers.

The production of organic tea is on the rise in Assam. And there are as many as 45 organic tea farmers and an many brands in the State. They have been farming organic tea in the State since 2006 under the banner of the Asom Kshudra Jaibic Chah Khetiyak Santha (AKJCKS), and without any help from the State Government.

Santha secretary Bhabendra Mohan Borgohain said: “We cultivate organic tea in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Tezpur, Lakhimpur and Kokrajhar. Production is the highest in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh. Piyala, Disa, Senehi, hor, Abhilekh, Jyoti are some of the organic tea brands that we produce. There are altogether 45 organic tea farmers and as many brands in the State under the Santha.”

Borgohain said: :We’re set to display our products before the world organic tea market next month. We’re going to take part in the Third World Tea and Coffee Expo slated to be held at Mumbai from October 1 to 3. We’re trying to display all the 45 brands there. We’re making all to be successful at the expo, and once we succeed, we will continue to be successful -- nothing succeeds like success. We’re hopeful of getting a wider organic tea market in the world.”     

The response to their products, Borgohain said, is immense in Assam. “We sell the products at reasoble prices. We believe that once we get a market outside Assam and the country, our brands will add to the prestige of the prestigious Assam tea in the world,” Borgohain said, and added: “We’ve been doing it on our own, without any help from the government.”