Mr Baid, a young dynamic tea connoisseur and the founder of Evergreen Group is an iconic tea industrialist/entrepreneur. From a tea vendor at railway stations and bus stops in Kishanganj, Bihar, to a successful businessman, Rajeev Baid is an iconic and far-sighted business figure in the tea industry. His tea ventures have been exciting and acquiring Okayti Tea Estate is certainly another feather in his cap. Evergreen embraces Okayti with open arms and requests the clients to direct their queries to the new management.
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Moonlight tea leaf plucking organised at Okayti Tea Estate, Darjeeling for most flavourful teas and unmatched aroma
Mr Baid’s Evergreen Group is a known entity in the world of CTC teas. The new vision of expanding the consumption of luxury teas and an unfathomable affection for teas will prove to be a game-changer in the Darjeeling tea scene.
The steep slopes, subtropical climate and the right kind of soil of Okayti have been producing tea of outstanding quality. Okayti tea has an impressive history of being served to royal tea connoisseurs. Spread over 447 hectares of marvellously scenic landscape in the Himalayas, it is one of the highest elevation tea estates of Darjeeling.
Planted in the early 1870s, Okayti was formerly called Rangdoo. Within a few years, the tea produced at Rangdoo acquired enormous fame for its distinct flavour. The London tea auctioneers affectionately started calling the tea from Rangdoo – ‘The only Okay tea!’ The only tea that was suited to be served at Buckingham Palace! To commemorate this global appreciation, Rangdoo was rechristened as ‘Okayti Tea Estate’.
Okayti has pushed forward the boundaries ever since. Its tea is flaunted and sold at international platforms, the most exclusive and luxurious teahouses of the world. Its single-estate premium teas are highly regarded in European as well as American markets for their enticingly well-balanced flavours.
Soon after the change in ownership, the management launched a fresh website and left no stone unturned to deliver a relaxing tea experience, right from purchase to the sip. The orthodox teas of Okayti are finery that brightens high ceiling halls and victorian tea rooms, and the expert team of blenders at new Okayti is experimenting with flavours that suit the contemporary times.
Okayti recently organised moonlight plucking where a group of skilled workers plucked leaves under full moonlight to harvest the best of flavours and aromas. Special sections were selected beforehand; it is often the bushes planted at the highest elevation section of the estate that receive maximum moonlight are selected. The plucking started at midnight, when all the nutrients were pulled to the desired place with transpiration paused for the time being. The pluckers balanced themselves amidst tea bushes flocking from one to another to pluck barely a kilogram or two of pristine leaves. Moonlight teas are considered the most flavorful teas with unmatched aromas.
The new management also recently launched the first-ever series of premium Okayti tea in pure cotton tea bags. After several tasting sessions and feedback, the cotton tea bags were unanimously voted for as it is eco-friendly, sustainable and because cotton fabric does not interfere with the aroma and flavours of the tea.
The new management further envisages opening up the magnificent tea estate of Okayti to visitors in its opulent cottage-style resort. It will give visitors a one-of-a-kind experience to understand tea in all its entirety. The scenic landscape of Okayti studded with tall pine trees, a green lush carpet of tea bushes and a marvellous backdrop of snow-capped mountains will provide tranquillity unequalled anywhere.
Okayti is a heritage brand and the new management team is making sure that the quality of tea and its packaging is as per the international standard. The teas go through several quality checks and are stored in weatherproof warehouses, to make sure that they reach the tea lovers’ cup fresh and brisk.
Okayti believes in freshness and it invests an enormous amount of detail when it comes to quality. With the new and fresh team, Okayti is set to brave newer heights.
