Tea Biz News and Insight - March 18, 2022

HEAR THE HEADLINES – Russia and India Pursue Sanction Workarounds for Tea | Tea Party at the Top of the World | Tea Biz Previews the 20th Anniversary World Tea Expo 

| GUEST – Rajiv Lochan, founder of Lochan Tea and owner of the Doke Tea Estate in Bihar, India

| FEATURES – This week Tea Biz travels to Siliguri, India to speak with Rajiv Lochan, founder of the Doke Tea Estate in Bihar, a non-traditional tea growing region bounded by West Bengal, Sikkim, and Nepal. Lochan’s marketing mastery has literally put Bihar on the official map of India’s tea-growing regions.

The Rise of New Tea Growing Regions –India proudly claims Assam and Darjeeling, two of the world’s most famous tea-growing regions. Yet neither grew tea until 175 years ago and it took 50 years to achieve scale. Today Indian consumers drink 90% of the tea it produces. It is only recently that domestic consumption surpassed exports and the expansion of tea lands. Growing regions are inherently blessed with tea-enhancing terroir, but ideal soil conditions, altitude, and micro-climate still require the pioneering vision and gritty persistence of growers like Rajiv to achieve their potential. Rajiv graduated from university in 1973 with a master's degree in organic chemistry. He spent his early career managing established gardens where the skills he developed in cultivating award-winning teas were complemented by his efficient management. In 1998, the Indian government, noticing the strong growth in domestic sales, issued permits to expand tea lands. Adhering to biodynamic principles, Lochan planted drought-resistant cultivars in the loamy soil along the Doke River. He now produces green, white, and oolong teas and black fusion, a blend of Assam and Darjeeling teas. It took him 10 years to acquire and consolidate smaller plots into the Doke Tea Estate.

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