The best ever price for first flush tea was bagged by a brand from Darjeeling

The best ever price for any first flush tea has been bagged by a special 5kg pack of handcrafted Darjeeling tea from the iconic Makaibari tea estate.

Located in Kurseong, this estate has made its name for fetching $302 (Rs 19363) per kilo of the Makaibari tea at a private sale.

The 155-year-old iconic garden was bought by Makaibari Japan, an independent firm run by Yoko Ishi, dealing exclusively in Makaibari tea.

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Makaibari chairman Rajah Banerjee, a legendary tea planter, has described this tea as a "very delicate, subtle first flush with a pitchy and fruity overtone".

"This particular tea exhibited a high first flush quality of Darjeeling with a subtle underline tint of second flush muscatel. It can only happen once in a blue moon. Otherwise, prolonged drought followed by unusual rain had caused erratic sprouting in the gardens in early this year. Almost 80%-85% of the buds were gone. But I took a chance with the rest of 15%-20% of the bushes. I decided to hand-roll a very small quantity of leaves and it turned out to be a magical produce. It had a unique aroma of first flush along with a high-infusion quality of a second flush. It occurred in an amazing set of circumstances, which, I think, would never happen again," Banerjee told TNN.

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"We always expect the world's best tea from Makaibari. Its best produce always has a loyal following among our Japanese customers," said Ishi.

On an average, Makaibari tea estate produces one lakh kg tea a year. However, last year, the production slipped to 90,000 kg.

"But it should be better this year. We have got 13,000 kg first flush tea so far," said Rudra Chatterjee, executive director of city-based Luxmi Tea, which currently owns Makaibari tea estate.

(Image source Huffington Post)