Tea country

[Manfred M]

This shot shows the tea county in South-Western India; the hills are absolutely covered in tea bushes and a winding, rocky road. The 7km / 4.3 mile road is the absolute worst road I have ever been on; one can see it snake through the tea plants. The hills in the background are part of the Western Ghat range that not far inland and parallel India's Western coastline. One of the company owned "villages" where the tea workers and their families live can be seen roughly 1/3 of the way in from the left side of the image.

Elevation at this spot is 2140m / 7130ft and the road leads on an "Orthodox" tea factory (this describes the traditional tea-making process employed by the factory); one of 17 in the area.



The shot was taken at just after 11:00AM, so not the preferred time of day for this type of photography.

[Rebel]

Love this shot, what a sight!

[RobFellows]

Very nicely composed, beautifully layered. Makes me want to bust out some biscuits and pop the kettle on.

Those little roads would be brilliant on a mountain bike.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[John 2]

Nicely done. When you eventually notice the village, it adds scale to he whole composition. Which particular tea come from this area Manfred? Is it one of the more known varieties?

[Kaye Leggett]

Lovely landscape. In addition to John's question, I want to know, does it smell of tea ?

[Wavelength]

Excellent image; i think smell of tea leaves comes only when the leaves are dried and processed.... Many of the Munnar tea plantations belong to Tata tea; many tea growers are selling their products to famous tea companies...

[Manfred M]

John / Kaye - black, green and white tea are all produced in the area. There are 17 operating tea factories in the area and each one produces one specific tea type (although there will be several producing the same type of tea).

The Kolukkumalai Tea Estate owns the area in the image. It was established in 1935, and I do have some pictures I would like to post, but the internet is not behaving itself and I am having problems with the upload. The tea bushes are around 80cm / 30" high and are a broad-leafed evergreen. Apparently, if the are not trimmed, they turn into trees that are over 15m / 50ft tall (and kind of hard to pick). The tea estate has about 350 workers, most of which are pickers.

The particular tea plant we visited uses the traditional or "orthodox" production method that rolls the tea leaves. It is very much a batch process, with discrete production steps. More modern production methods (known as CTC (Cut - Tear - Crush)) is a continuous process. There four grades of Orange Pekoe tea produced at the plant; Flowery Orange Pekoe (the lightest tea), Broken Orange Pekoe (a medium strength tea) and Fannings, the strongest of their teas. Tea dust goes into tea bags (that should tell you something about the quality of the material in the bags).

Does it smell of tea; no. The smell comes out in the processing where the tea leaves are oxidize (akin to what happens when a cut apple turns brown), and this is what gives the characteristic tea smell.

[NorthernFocus]

My favorite of your tea country shots so far, Manfred(not counting people shots). This one really gives me a sense of the place. Is there a specific season for harvesting the leaves or is it ongoing?

[Manfred M]

My favorite of your tea country shots so far, Manfred(not counting people shots). This one really gives me a sense of the place. Is there a specific season for harvesting the leaves or is it ongoing?

Ongoing harvest. Only the top leaves that are new growth are harvested (think of trimming a hedge). Harvesting goes on 12 months a year, with a slowdown during the peak monsoon months of July and August.

[Wavelength]

A lot of study indeed.... your spirit of learning the subject is really appreciated

[Manfred M]

A lot of study indeed.... your spirit of learning the subject is really appreciated

Thanks. I am always interested in understanding the subjects I am photographing.

[IzzieK]

Everything I need to know had already been discussed. Sorry to be late here but this is such a beautiful shot. It has the calmness just looking at those winding roads.

[mugge]

My two bobs worth- great.
Cheers Ole