Sikkim: Temi Tea Awarded With Prestigious 'Great Taste Tea' Award In London

Gangtok: The famous Temi Tea of Sikkim has been awarded the 'Great Taste Tea' award during a tea competition held in London.

As per reports, this tea competition was organized by the Guild of Fine Food (GFF) in London for the year 2022. It is considered the world's largest and most trusted food and beverage accreditation scheme.

Among the other tea brands of the world, Temi Tea has won the title of 'Best Tea' for its unique taste and has received an award titled "Unravel Tea".

The said tea was one of the contenders for the first flush award.

Notably, all the premium tea brands across the world participated in the event and over 500 expert tea tasters tasted the products. The tea, tea alcohol, and taste were assessed and evaluated by tea tasters.

Meanwhile, in July this year, the office-bearers of various associations of small tea growers met Industries and Commerce Minister Bimal Borah and apprised him of their problems regarding green leave prices.

The minister assured the small tea growers of solving their problems soon.

The 'lackadaisical' attitude of a section of Deputy Commissioners (DCs) has left small tea growers (STGs) with no option but to sell their green tea leaves at low prices.

It is the peak of the tea season when STGs sell their green leaves to bought tea factories (BTFs) and big tea gardens. Many DCs have not yet fixed the district-wise minimum support price (MSP) for green tea leaves.

As a result, BTFs are fixing prices according to their whims and fancies, and STGs find themselves at the receiving end. They are selling their produce at low rates.

As per the industry ministry's guidelines, the price of green tea leaves is fixed every year district-wise by a committee that is headed by the DC of the respective district. The DC calls a meeting of all stakeholders and then fixes the MSP.

According to sources, till now the MSP has been fixed by the committees of Golaghat, Jorhat, and Charaideo districts only.

In other districts, the MSP has not been fixed as yet, and hence, BTFs and big tea gardens in these districts are buying green tea leaves from STGs at as low a price as Rs 14-Rs 15 per kg. Such low prices do not even cover the cost of production of STGs, let alone fetch them profit.

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