Flow chart of how to make Darjeeling black tea from India, the three famous black tea brands in the world.

Darjeeling, translated from Tibetan, which means "land of thunder and lightning", is a priceless gem of a town in the lower Himalayas. Darjeeling's history seems to begin with a station built on the mountain by the British East India Company (British East India Company) in 1835. Until then, the region had been under the rule of the Sikkim rulers. After reaching an agreement with the company, the rulers of Sikkim allowed them to build sanatoriums for soldiers. Once the British took control of the area, the era of planned development began, and a new mountain station appeared in the form of Darjeeling. Darjeeling has always been known as the queen of the mountains. It is not hard to see why-green hills, tea gardens, UNESCO-approved toy trains and smiling Gurkha-have always been part of the Darjeeling legend. Darjeeling, once a bustling place of entertainment for British people, is now crowded with family holidaymakers and adventurous travelers seeking leisure. In the east, a dark orange sun appeared, and brilliant pens of red, gold, orange and fuchsia painted the sky. Snow-covered Mount Everest, Cabru, Gancheng Jung, Janu and other peaks slowly wake up from their slumber to start a new day. People who worship the sun gasped at the spectacular sight. As the fog slowly cleared in the sun, the town gradually came to life. In the process of making tea, the local dialect "Gurkali" rises and falls like music. The art of Yuqing the method of picking Darjeeling tea is as unique as its taste. Great emphasis is placed on picking methods, because the real quality is inherent in good raw materials (tea), and the special Darjeeling flavor is produced by very fine picking standards. The smallest bud consists of two leaves and a bud. It needs 22000 buds, all of which are picked by hand to produce 1 kilogram of tea. To achieve such a high green standard, the hilly terrain makes the task more difficult. Over the years, Darjeeling tea pickers have been struggling with difficult terrain, cold, fog and rain to maintain strict standards. They start early in the morning, when the dew still exists at night. Only the tenderest leaves are carefully picked by gentle hands. Young people are so fast and skilled that it is often impossible to track the movement of their hands and fingers.

In this process, the green leaves are spread evenly on the trough, blowing out hot and cold air regularly. The goal is to slowly remove moisture from the leaves within 14-16 hours. Twist the dead leaves into the twist and twist them mechanically. This process is carefully monitored so that the pattern of the leaves remains the same and does not overheat. After oxidative fermentation is rolled, the leaves are spread on a very thin layer in a cool, damp room. The whole process lasts 2-4 hours, depending on temperature, humidity and the quality of the leaves. In this process, tea has formed a unique flavor and aroma. The sensory judgment of the tea maker is very important to the quality of tea brewing. The dried and fermented tea is taken to the dryer, where it is regulated at different temperatures for 20-30 minutes. As a result, black tea loses moisture after natural fermentation. Finishing and packaging this is the final stage, where tea is graded according to size and packed in specially designed foil-lined packaging. Tasting Darjeeling tea is an elegant art, it must contain many variables. Tasters are very sensitive to taste and smell, and have a high degree of discrimination. Experienced tea tasters can identify the tea gardens and environmental conditions on the picking day, and can even suggest adjustments in the production process. The tea taster uses his keen sense of sight, smell, touch and taste to judge the quality of tea. When evaluating tea, tea tasters must also have an in-depth understanding of the current market situation, consumer preferences and production processes. These are natural gifts-it can be said that wine tasters are born, not nurtured. However, these talents must be trained and developed over the years to make taste skillful enough to recognize subtle differences. This is especially true for Darjeeling tea tasters because the quality of tea varies from invoice to invoice, and as an exclusive tea, there is no standard to measure it.