Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World's Most Famous Tea

Darjeeling's tea bushes run across a mythical landscape steeped with the religious, the sacred, and the picturesque. Planted at high elevation in the heart of the Eastern Himalayas, in an area of northern India bound by Nepal to the west, Bhutan to the east, and Sikkim to the north, the linear rows of brilliant green, waist-high shrubs that coat the steep slopes and valleys around this Victorian hill town produce only a fraction of the world's tea, and less than one percent of India's total. Yet the tea from that limited crop, with its characteristic bright, amber-colored brew and muscatel flavors--delicate and flowery, hinting of apricots and peaches--is generally considered the best in the world. This is the story of how Darjeeling tea began, was key to the largest tea industry on the globe under Imperial British rule, and came to produce the highest-quality tea leaves anywhere in the world. It is a story rich in history, intrigue and empire, full of adventurers and unlikely successes in culture, mythology and religions, ecology and terroir, all set with a backdrop of the looming Himalayas and drenching monsoons. The story is ripe with the imprint of the Raj as well as the contemporary clout of voodoo farmers getting world record prices for their fine teas--and all of it beginning with one of the most audacious acts of corporate smuggling in history. But it is also the story of how the industry spiraled into decline by the end of the twentieth century, and how this edenic spot in the high Himalayas seethes with union unrest and a violent independence struggle. It is also a front-line fight against the devastating effects of climate change and decades of harming farming practices, a fight that is being fought in some tea gardens--and, astonishingly, won--using radical methods. Jeff Koehler has written a fascinating chronicle of India and its most sought-after tea. Blending history, politics, and reportage together, along with a collection of recipes that tea-drinkers will love, Darjeeling is an indispensable volume for fans of micro-history and tea fanatics.

About the Author :
Jeff Koehler is a writer, traveler, and cook, and author of books and articles on food and culture including Spain: Recipes and Traditions, named one of 2013's top cookbooks by the New York Times; Morocco: A Culinary Journey with Recipes; and La Paella: Deliciously Authentic Rice Dishes from Spain's Mediterranean Coast. His work has appeared in Saveur, Food & Wine, NPR.org, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Afar, Tin House, and Best Food Writing 2010. He lives in Barcelona.

Review :
"There is no leaf unturned in Barcelona-based food journalist Koehler's (Spain: Recipes and Traditions, 2013, etc.) exposition on the growing of Darjeeling tea . . . A thorough account that tracks the growing and processing of this fine tea against the wider changes in today's India." --Kirkus Reviews "The author's friendly writing style and obvious passion for the subject makes the book an entertaining read." --Library Journal "When he writes about the tea itself . . . how the pickers skillfully pluck the leaves and toss them into a basket, how the tea smells as it's being dried, the daily taste tests at each estate -- his prose is both sensory and balletic." --Chicago Tribune "This exhaustively researched and eminently readable book will delight foodies, history buffs and armchair travelers alike." --Seattle Times It is not just about Darjeeling, though; and not even just about tea. It is also about the history of colonial and post-colonial India . . . As for the rest, it is a book teeming with characters and interest. Koehler, described as 'writer, photographer, traveller and cook, ' has the polymath's curiosity for everything, as well as the writer's ability to listen to and retell a good story . . . A richly digressive book. --Guardian