Phuguri 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 ...
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 words ''Mir-Yok'' meaning "place burnt by fire".
H ...
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.
Kurse ...
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 fou ...
.
History
Dr. Camphbell was posted as a civil surgeon at Darjeeling in 1839. At that time there were hardly 20 families living in the entire hill tracts. In 1841, Dr. Camphbell brought China tea seeds from Kumaon Hills and planted them in his garden. The success of the initial efforts led the government to go for commercial development of tea gardens. Tea estates, with seeds from government nurseries, were developed at Tukvar, Steinthal and Aloobari. These were followed by other gardens.
Dr. Campbell's primary problem was to draw settlers to that uninhabited region. He sought the help of a nobleman from Nepal, Dakman Rai, to bring workers and immigrants from Nepal. Dakman Rai went back to Nepal and brought back one thousand immigrants, all of whom belonged to the Gurkha or Nepalese community. In appreciation of his helpful service, Dakman Rai was given the grant of free-hold lands presently known as Soureni Tea Estate, Samripani and Phuguri Tea Estate. The last named tea estate was set up in 1880.
Phuguri Tea Estate is presently owned by the Bagaria Group.
Geography
Phuguri Tea Estate is 7 km from Mirik.
Phuguri Tea Estate produces one of the finest clonal teas that has gained fame all over the world. The tea plantations cover spread over from an altitude of above mean sea level.
Economy
Phuguri Tea Estate produces 150,000 kg organic
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 ...
annually. It is certified as bio-organic and rain forest alliance, UTZ, ETP, COR, JAS, Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point (HACCP), and Fair Trade certified.
Phuguri Tea Estate produces very fine clonal teas. Clonal tea bushes are grown from hybrid clones, rather than seeds. This enables control over the quality of tea produced.
The Bagaria Group is headed by Sheo Shankar Bagaria, assisted by Abhishek Bagaria and Asish Bagaria. In the Darjeeling hills, it also has tea gardens at Gayabaree & Millikthong and
Orange Valley. One of the group companies Kusum International is tea trading and export set-up. It exports tea to Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Dubai, European countries, USA and Canada.
References
External links
*
{{Darjeeling District
Tea estates in Darjeeling district