Working with Selim Hill Tea Estate and their new brand, "Dorje teas," I worked with loose-leaf Darjeeling tea. I took on a 360-degree role that involved consultation, ethnographic study, brand building, and documentation.
I learnt about the art of tasting tea from master tea maker, the legendary Rajah Banerjee, and gained a vocabulary to express my palate. I conducted ethnographic research on the history and cultural movement of tea, both by visiting villages that fall under the plantation rule by heritage, and through books and memoirs. It is here I learnt of the modern-day serfdom tied to tea estates and the fact that the Naxal movement began from a plantation some 30 km away!
The majority of my time was split up between the tea factory, the tasting room, and the outdoors, identifying plants and animals. I was able to suggest several ways to utilize factory waste, increase electrical efficiency, and document the processes on video to increase customer awareness. Most Indians are aware of and prefer CTC tea, which, compared to loose leaf tea, loses almost all positive nutrition. Helping the infant brand choose and create content that highlights the people and the production processes helped create a more discerning customer.
I had the chance to roam the great wild outdoors of North Bengal and was fortunate enough to see and document some beautiful snakes, monitor lizards, moths, scorpions, a leopard, Hornbills, and even follow a group of male elephants in Musth with the help of plantation elders.
