Hi,
just like to let you know that in a few gardens the first plucking has
started. However, it's just small, artificially watered areas, not the
real thing yet.
In the last couple days I've been visiting some gardens and wherever I
went the ground was bone dry and the bushes didn't look too happy.
These days only a few clouds are to be seen here and there and the
situation get's a bit desparate. Let's all hope for the best (lots of
rain but no hail)
I'll keep you updated.
PS: In the meantime a tea related dream became true for me, more in a
few weeks.

Best,
Karsten

2/10/0
6

> Hi,
> just like to let you know that in a few gardens the first plucking has
> started. However, it's just small, artificially watered areas, not the
> real thing yet.
> In the last couple days I've been visiting some gardens and wherever I
> went the ground was bone dry and the bushes didn't look too happy.
> These days only a few clouds are to be seen here and there and the
> situation get's a bit desparate. Let's all hope for the best (lots of
> rain but no hail)
> I'll keep you updated.
> PS: In the meantime a tea related dream became true for me, more in a
> few weeks.
>
> Best,
> Karsten


Thanks, Karsten! It's nice to have somebody on site to protect us from tea
selling bandits and thieves. Keep us posted as to when to dive in.

Michael

wrote:
> Hi,
> just like to let you know that in a few gardens the first plucking has
> started. However, it's just small, artificially watered areas, not the
> real thing yet.
> In the last couple days I've been visiting some gardens and wherever I
> went the ground was bone dry and the bushes didn't look too happy.
> These days only a few clouds are to be seen here and there and the
> situation get's a bit desparate. Let's all hope for the best (lots of
> rain but no hail)
> I'll keep you updated.
> PS: In the meantime a tea related dream became true for me, more in a
> few weeks.
>
> Best,
> Karsten

How did the monsoons affect the crop? I've spoken to some dealers here
in New York and they said the coffee crop was really destroyed.

Maria

Maria wrote:
> How did the monsoons affect the crop? I've spoken to some dealers here
> in New York and they said the coffee crop was really destroyed.

No problems here (AFAIKT), everything went pretty smoothly and resulted
in some really wonderful autumnal teas, some of them up on par with the
great seconds of 2005.

Karsten / Dorje Ling

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hi,
> just like to let you know that in a few gardens the first plucking has
> started. However, it's just small, artificially watered areas, not the
> real thing yet.
> In the last couple days I've been visiting some gardens and wherever I
> went the ground was bone dry and the bushes didn't look too happy.
> These days only a few clouds are to be seen here and there and the
> situation get's a bit desparate. Let's all hope for the best (lots of
> rain but no hail)
> I'll keep you updated.
> PS: In the meantime a tea related dream became true for me, more in a
> few weeks.
>
> Best,
> Karsten
>
Karsten,

Thanks for the report. It's now mid-February - when does the rain usually
begin?

Regards,
Dean

Dean,

as said before the pros get more and more nervous these days. We had
some exceptionally beautiful weather this winter with no rain at all
(except 5 or 6 drops in early Jan. and last week). It's pretty hard to
tell how it all turns out. One thing I shouldn't forget to mention
(thanks Michael): around end of February the real harvest WILL start,
probably first in some more of those irrigated fields, that means small
amounts > high prices. Those teas can be nice, but you'll have to pay
$$ to get some of those first leaves. So if you're not too desparate,
be patient and just wait for the rain (an update on rfdt).
As soon as some real rain makes it up here from the bay of Bengal, both
harvested quantity and quality will rise and prices will fall. As a
rule of thumb, you can expect some nice quality if the tea gets plucked
around 14 days after some real rain made it up here.
As I have to fly back on the 19th of March I'll be pretty busy around
early/mid March in pursuit of my tea dreams (among other things,
sampling some 100 teas, some of them very special - wish me luck).
I'll however try my best to keep you updated (short reviews and so on).


Greetings from the hills,
Karsten

> wrote in message
ps.com...
> Dean,
>
> as said before the pros get more and more nervous these days. We had
> some exceptionally beautiful weather this winter with no rain at all
> (except 5 or 6 drops in early Jan. and last week). It's pretty hard to
> tell how it all turns out. One thing I shouldn't forget to mention
> (thanks Michael): around end of February the real harvest WILL start,
> probably first in some more of those irrigated fields, that means small
> amounts > high prices. Those teas can be nice, but you'll have to pay
> $$ to get some of those first leaves. So if you're not too desparate,
> be patient and just wait for the rain (an update on rfdt).
> As soon as some real rain makes it up here from the bay of Bengal, both
> harvested quantity and quality will rise and prices will fall. As a
> rule of thumb, you can expect some nice quality if the tea gets plucked
> around 14 days after some real rain made it up here.
> As I have to fly back on the 19th of March I'll be pretty busy around
> early/mid March in pursuit of my tea dreams (among other things,
> sampling some 100 teas, some of them very special - wish me luck).
> I'll however try my best to keep you updated (short reviews and so on).
>
>
> Greetings from the hills,
> Karsten
>

Karsten,

Thanks. I'd really love to see the Darjeeling district someday.

Makaibari is just about my favorite garden, so I'll be eager for your report
in March. Thanks again for keeping us up to date, and have a great trip.
Good luck.

Regards,
Dean

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hi,
> just like to let you know that in a few gardens the first plucking has
> started. However, it's just small, artificially watered areas, not the
> real thing yet.
> In the last couple days I've been visiting some gardens and wherever I
> went the ground was bone dry and the bushes didn't look too happy.
> These days only a few clouds are to be seen here and there and the
> situation get's a bit desparate. Let's all hope for the best (lots of
> rain but no hail)
> I'll keep you updated.

Thanks! Please mention the gardens by name when it comes to recommending
their 1st F products.

Is Makaibari included in your haunts?
--
Aloke
----
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Yes, like others mentioned, your updates can save a lot of people from
bandits. A guy in Darjeeling can make a difference. Will you be
settling in Darjeeling for good?

Stanley

Stanley wrote:
> A guy in Darjeeling can make a difference. Will you be
> settling in Darjeeling for good?

I really don't know if I can make a meaningful difference here.
These days there are 83 registered gardens, and I possibly can't sample
all of their teas (1000s of invoices in just one season).
Besides I'm getting more and more involved into some tea related
projects over here, and hence my 2 cts could be seen as a little biased
by some. But then I still enjoy non-bioorganically grown leaves (with a
grain of salt) and will always look forward to what some of those
conventional gardens have to offer.

> Will you be settling in Darjeeling for good?
If I get a chance (visa) I'd really like to spend more time up here,
and who knows ...
I'll be leaving on the 19th of March but will be back in time for the
second flush, some serious work ahead ;-)

Karsten/Darjeeling

Aloke wrote:
>Is Makaibari included in your haunts?

Hi Aloke,
as I'm partial to bioorganically grown teas, definetely.
I'll make it there around 10th of March and will report back.

Best,
Karsten / Darjeeling

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Aloke wrote:
>>Is Makaibari included in your haunts?
>
> Hi Aloke,
> as I'm partial to bioorganically grown teas, definetely.
> I'll make it there around 10th of March and will report back.

How widespread are the gardens you visit?
I visited Darjeeling as a tourist when I was a child (living in Calcutta).
I took the train to the main city of Darjeeling and stayed at a bungalow up
the hill within walking distance from the train station. Most of the
tourism (including Happy Valley Gardens) was in ancient Land Rovers. But
you know how distance/size perspective gets distorted when you are a child
....
--
Aloke
----
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Aloke Prasad wrote:
> How widespread are the gardens you visit?
Well, wherever they are in the district. The major problem is the hilly
terrain. Two days ago I visited a garden that is just 5 miles away as
the crow flies (GPS), but just getting there by jeep took 3 hours. Some
estates along the border of Nepal are indeed pretty hard too reach, but
I truly enjoy trekking through and along the estates once in a while.

> I visited Darjeeling as a tourist when I was a child (living in Calcutta).
You really should come up here one of these days. Almost everything has
changed, except the terrain ;-)

Where do you live now, if I may ask ?

Karsten / Darjeeling

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Aloke Prasad wrote:

>> I visited Darjeeling as a tourist when I was a child (living in
>> Calcutta).
> You really should come up here one of these days. Almost everything has
> changed, except the terrain ;-)
>
> Where do you live now, if I may ask ?

Ohio.
--
Aloke
----
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