Okayti Tea Estate is a
tea garden
A tea garden is an outdoor space or garden where tea and light refreshments are served, or any garden with which the drinking of tea is associated. Especially in India, it is also a common term for a tea plantation. The tea garden was a part o ...
in the
Mirik
Mirik is a small town and a Notified Area of Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Mirik subdivision. The name ''Mirik'' comes from the Lepcha language, Lepcha words ''Mir-Yok'' meaning "place bur ...
CD block in the
Mirik subdivision
Mirik subdivision is a subdivision of the Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India. It was declared a subdivision on 30 March 2017.
Subdivisions
Darjeeling district is divided into the following administrative subdivisions:
...
of the
Darjeeling district
Darjeeling District is the northernmost district of the state of West Bengal in eastern India in the foothills of the Himalayas. The district is famous for its hill station and Darjeeling tea. Darjeeling is the district headquarters.
Kurseon ...
in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n state of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
.
History
Rangdoo was the original name of this tea estate. It was planted by the British planters in the 1870s. The tea produced at Rangdoo had a distinctive taste because of the soil and agro-climatic conditions. It soon earned the reputation of being the only ‘’Okay tea’’. So powerful was the impact of the market feed-back that the tea garden was renamed Okayti Tea Estate. The tea factory was built in 1888.
The Kumbhat family has been nurturing the estate for over two decades.
Recently Mr. Rajeev Baid, Founder of Evergreen Group acquired Okayti Tea Estate.
Geography
Okayti Tea Estate is in the Mirik Valley about 45 km from
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
. It has
Gopaldhara Tea Estate
Gopaldhara Tea Estate is a tea garden in the Mirik CD block in the Mirik subdivision of the Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Etymology
In 1881, the tea estate was developed in the lush green paddy fields owned by a person ...
on the north-east and
Thurbo Tea Estate
Thubro Tea Estate is a tea garden in the Mirik CD block in the Mirik subdivision of the Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Etymology
The name “Thurbo” is a variation of the Nepali word “Tombu” meaning tent. The Briti ...
on the east. Tea bushes are planted in an area covering out of the total area of . The balance area includes forest covering. Tea is grown at a height of .
The
Mechi
Mechi ( ne, मेची अञ्चल ) was one of the fourteen zones of Nepal until the restructuring of zones to provinces, comprising four districts; namely Ilam, Jhapa, Panchthar and Taplejung. Its headquarters are at Ilam. It comes und ...
, forming the boundary between India and Nepal, flows along the boundaries of the tea garden.
Economy
Okayti produces round 140,000 kg of tea annually, most of which is exported to the US, Europe and Japan.
Achievements
Darjeeling tea
Darjeeling tea is a tea made from ''Camellia sinensis var. sinensis'' that is grown and processed in Darjeeling or Kalimpong Districts in West Bengal, India. Since 2004, the term ''Darjeeling tea'' has been a registered geographical indication ...
produced by Okayti is certified to be 100% bio-organic. Among those who have patronised Okayti are Queen Elizabeth, Nikita Khrushchev and Jawaharlal Nehru.
References
External links
*
{{Darjeeling District
Tea estates in Darjeeling district