Since the 1980s, tea has been grown at the Donyi Polo Tea Estate, which is located in a little village of Oyan in the East Siang district. However, the tea estate gained popularity more recently when its Golden Needle tea fetched a very high price and its Purple tea later fetched Rs. 24,501 per kilogram at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) in Assam.
Because Donyi Polo is located at the base of the mountain and has unpredictable weather conditions, it is difficult to make these specialized teas, particularly the Golden Needles, which need dry sunny weather. Additionally, the Yellow, White, Silver Needles, Golden Needles, and Purple specialty teas require extreme attention and are not available year round.
Although the Goldentipped tea is widely cultivated across India, the Donyi Polo Estate is the only producer of the highly unique needleshaped, golden tea buds. Despite the fact that the Goldentipped tea and the Needleshaped golden tea are not very different, the distinction is nonetheless important. While other tea farms have buds with a golden tip, the entire bud at the Donyi Polo is golden.
The only location outside of China where the Golden Needle tea is produced is the Donyi Polo tea estate. The recent revolution in the tea plantation is encouraging new farmers and teaplantation owners to grow specialty tea.
In contrast to the well-known Assam tea, Arunachal Pradesh is relatively young and not many people are aware of its novel cultivation techniques and its exclusivity in producing the rare tea found on its plantations. It’s a fact that local markets have been flooded with homegrown tea in recent years. The benefits of Arunchal Pradesh include the fact that its climate is ideal for growing tea and the abundance of Himalayan rivers and streams that aid in irrigating tea farms.
The Donyi Polo tea estate, like many other Arunachal Pradesh teas, advertises itself as organic. The whole property is being transformed into an organic farm through various initiatives.
The Purple Tea is thought to have originated in Northeast India, but it was not widely grown. Some regions of Kenya even cultivated it, and it is believed that the British brought saplings from India to Africa, but this tea was unable to thrive there due to a lack of significance.
The incident occurred in 2014 at the Donyi Polo tea plantation, when several leaves that were considered wild were found to be those of Purple Tea. Soon after, a few hundred plants were grown, yielding about six kilograms of tea for the first time.
The tea was put up for sale after being analyzed for anthocyanin-rich antioxidants. Tea made from these leaves has a very unique purple hue, giving it a regal appearance, and it is also said to be beneficial for detoxification, cancer prevention, cardiovascular health, and general well-being.
The output of purple tea is intended to be increased, but several obstacles prevent the tea from having the proper flavor. Tea is a labor-intensive plant. Even if the tea is pricey, it’s still much less than the work. Only the most carefully chosen leaves are picked for producing specialty teas, and the process takes far longer than that of regular tea leaves. It takes eight hours of leaf plucking with the Golden Needle to get only one hundred grams of leaves.
In an eight-hour period, about 15 kg of Purple Tea may be harvested at once, while 20 kg of non-specialty teas like the Assam CTC can be plucked. In contrast, the Golden Needle demands a few unique steps; after being picked, the buds must be hand-rolled to get their needle-like shape. In addition to all this, the tea’s total cost is raised by a number of other factors.
Without a doubt, Donyi Polo has become well-known, but the majority of Indians who yearn for their morning cup of tea still favor the potent Assam CTC tea with milk, which cannot be substituted because the tea keeps them going throughout the day.
