Darjeeling’s Selim Hill Tea Estate is enticing young consumers who have developed a taste for cold coffee. It has come up with a cold brew of Darjeeling tea for the first time under the brand name Dorje.
Other Darjeeling tea companies said that if the cold brew is accepted by consumers, then they too will explore this new category.
Sparsh Agarwal, founder of Dorje Teas, said that Selim Hill Tea Estate, located at 3,500 feet in the Darjeeling Himalayan sub-region, has produced a unique organic cold brew tea for the first time in its 150 years of operation.
This was done under the guidance and expertise of Rajah Banerjee, the former owner of the famous Makaibari tea estate. This cold brew is available in 250 gm and 100 gm for the Darjeeling tea drinking community around the world.
Traditionally, Darjeeling tea is prepared with hot water for optimum taste. However, after six months of research and development, blind tasting and expert consultation, Team Dorje was able to secure the right formula and process to develop a Darjeeling tea product that could be brewed overnight without cold water.
Agarwal said that the Dorje cold brew tea is dark, bold, and strong. It is a loose leaf product that is meant to be brewed overnight and sipped throughout the day, over ice. Dorje Teas will now be applying for a trademark and patent for its new product innovation.
The cold brew is meant to appeal to a younger audience that understands and appreciates cold brew coffee, he said.
“Darjeeling cold brew is definitely an interesting proposition,” said Madhav Sarda, managing director of Golden Tips, a company which retails and exports Darjeeling teas. It is different from the ready-to-drink teas that are available in the US and other parts of the globe. However, the cold brew has to be backed by a strong marketing effort. We are watching how things pan out. We will then take a call on whether to enter the category or not.
Golden Tips runs six tea bars across Darjeeling and Sikkim. It also owns a restaurant in Darjeeling, Teattoria, which sells Italian food. “We may look at serving cold brew at our restaurant,” said Sarda.
The company sells Darjeeling tea at a range of Rs. 1,000 per kg to as high as Rs. 20,000 per kg.