Assam tea makes world record at Rs 39,001/kg

GUWAHATI: Tea auction in the state reached a new high on Tuesday when a brew from the Manohari tea estate in Dibrugarh district fetched Rs 39,001 per kg. It was a world record for the special boutique quality orthodox tea under the pan-India auction system, said the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre.

"This is the highest price any tea has fetched in any auction centre around the world. This is a proud moment for us. Our centre is providing a platform for special varieties to get noticed and get recognised overseas. This will encourage other quality tea makers. Our centre has emerged as a hub for speciality tea," said secretary of Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers Association, Dinesh Bihani. The record was made in sale number 30 when a line of Manohari Gold Tea fetched the record price and was bought by Contemporary Brokers, which sold it to Saurabh Tea Traders of Guwahati for their upcountry buyers in Delhi and Ahmedabad.

The tea was made by CK Parashar under the guidance of Rajan Lohia, the owner of Manohari Tea Estate. "With inherent quality and special clones of tea bushes and hand plucking of very delicate buds, a lot of effort and dedication went into the making of the brew. The tea looks like crystals of pure 24 carat gold," Lohia said.

He added, "Manohari Gold will definitely draw the attention of the world and help regain the lost glory of the tea industry by joining hands with other tea manufactures committed to quality teas."

Owner of Saurabh Tea Traders, ML Maheshwari, said, "Our customers are always looking for best quality speciality teas. Earlier, we had purchased another line of Donyi Plo Tea Estate Speciality tea at Rs 18,801 a kg." Last month, the Guwahati centre, which is the country's biggest CTC auction centre, had fetched a record price of Rs 511 per kg for Halmari CTC tea.