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Kanoka Tea Estate is relatively newly established tea estate but it has gained popularity quite soon. 100% organically produced tea leafs surely attracts the Indian and International buyers however the unique flavor turns them into loyal customers. Tea leaves are processed in-house using the manual process that enhances the taste. Cotton tea bag is another attraction of the estate. Black leaf tea and green leaf tea are the two prime products sold at premium price under the company name Assamica Agro. The farm is located at Hugrajuli-Panchnoi area, Sonitpur district, Assam. Mr. Pallabjyoti Nath, 36, manages entire farm production and processing while his sister-in-law Ms. Manmoyuri Devi takes care of the marketing and sales.
“We do not use any chemical based farming inputs in our estate. We use cow dung and urine based manure twice in a year along with vermicompost and farm yard compost,” informs Mr. Pallabjyoti Nath.
Being organic the estate receives less production but the tea is sold at the price 10 times higher than the inorganic tea variants. “Staying chemical free is boon for me in all ways, I earn good, soil quality is excellent, no threats of pest attack, less water requirement and my health is also perfect as there is no close contact with chemicals.” Vermicompost is prepared from sugarcane waste and farm yard compost is made from dry leaves, neem and sour curds etc. Irrigation is done manually across the estate. “In case of low rainfall we use the flood irrigation in order to keep the moisture levels as desired,” he adds.
Tea leaves are plucked once in four days from April-December. To process one kg black tea approximately 5 kg tea leaves are used. “Processing begins with drying the leaves. There is 50-60% moisture in leaves that needs to be dried completely in natural environment. It usually takes 20-24 hours for natural leaves drying. Next it is hand rolled followed by fermentation (oxidization). In 4-5 hours the hand rolled tea leaves are fermented then after it is dried once again before for the final packing. The entire process is manual without any use of chemicals,” he explains. It takes 4-5 days to process the leaves into tea. After one batch of leaves is processed into tea then next batch of leaves is plucked. Similarly green leaf tea is processed at the farm. The process steps have certain variations.
Fiber should not come while processing the leaves into tea else the quality is lost. The tea manufactured is stored in air-tight packing. “If the ready tea is ensured to be stored moisture free then its shelf life is as long as two years but if the pack is opened then it must be consumed soon,” he claims. Cotton tea bags from Assamica Agro are also quite in demand.
When asked about cotton tea bags, Ms. Manmoyuri shares, “Cotton bags are made by the self-help group near the estate. It is also made manually but perfection is intact. Cotton fabric used in making the tea bag is food grade hence safe for human health. One bag can be used 2-3 times.”
40% of the total produce is sold in India while rest 60% is exported to countries namely UK, US, Canada, Australia and Germany. “We received IC number in 2012 and since then we are exporting our tea both in retail and bulk. Minimum bulk order quantity we take is 200-300kg. We have our regular clients who sell our tea under the brand name ‘Kanoka’ in their respective country,” shares Ms. Manmoyuri. Black leaf tea is preferred more than the green leaf tea in exports. “After receiving the organic certification the demand has gone up tremendously. We are getting many orders from all over the world. We also get many export orders of empty cotton tea bags.” All the orders are sent through Fedex.
In future plantation needs to be increased because, “The demand is more and our supply is less. To meet our growing demand we have to increase the plantation,” reveals Mr. Pallabjyoti Nath. He did graduation in Economics major from Guwahati University. After serving for few months in regular job he returned back to his hometown and became farmer. “I am extremely happy with the decision to get back to my roots,” he shares with a smile. Ms. Manmoyuri is lawyer by qualification but choose to be part of family business instead of practicing law.
They conclude, “We are contributing our share to take our village and state on International map. It is because of the exclusive quality of our hand crafted tea. We shall ensure to safeguard it by all means no matter if we produce less quantity but quality will never be on stake as reputation once built turns into legacy!”
Contact details:
Assamica Agro
Kanoka Tea Estate
Panchnoi, P.O. Hugrajuli, District: Sonitpur,
Assam - 784507, India
Phone: +91-8586893742/9864616501
Email: sales@assamicaagro.com
Web: http://www.assamicaorganictea.in/
“We do not use any chemical based farming inputs in our estate. We use cow dung and urine based manure twice in a year along with vermicompost and farm yard compost,” informs Mr. Pallabjyoti Nath.
Being organic the estate receives less production but the tea is sold at the price 10 times higher than the inorganic tea variants. “Staying chemical free is boon for me in all ways, I earn good, soil quality is excellent, no threats of pest attack, less water requirement and my health is also perfect as there is no close contact with chemicals.” Vermicompost is prepared from sugarcane waste and farm yard compost is made from dry leaves, neem and sour curds etc. Irrigation is done manually across the estate. “In case of low rainfall we use the flood irrigation in order to keep the moisture levels as desired,” he adds.
Tea leaves are plucked once in four days from April-December. To process one kg black tea approximately 5 kg tea leaves are used. “Processing begins with drying the leaves. There is 50-60% moisture in leaves that needs to be dried completely in natural environment. It usually takes 20-24 hours for natural leaves drying. Next it is hand rolled followed by fermentation (oxidization). In 4-5 hours the hand rolled tea leaves are fermented then after it is dried once again before for the final packing. The entire process is manual without any use of chemicals,” he explains. It takes 4-5 days to process the leaves into tea. After one batch of leaves is processed into tea then next batch of leaves is plucked. Similarly green leaf tea is processed at the farm. The process steps have certain variations.
Fiber should not come while processing the leaves into tea else the quality is lost. The tea manufactured is stored in air-tight packing. “If the ready tea is ensured to be stored moisture free then its shelf life is as long as two years but if the pack is opened then it must be consumed soon,” he claims. Cotton tea bags from Assamica Agro are also quite in demand.
When asked about cotton tea bags, Ms. Manmoyuri shares, “Cotton bags are made by the self-help group near the estate. It is also made manually but perfection is intact. Cotton fabric used in making the tea bag is food grade hence safe for human health. One bag can be used 2-3 times.”
40% of the total produce is sold in India while rest 60% is exported to countries namely UK, US, Canada, Australia and Germany. “We received IC number in 2012 and since then we are exporting our tea both in retail and bulk. Minimum bulk order quantity we take is 200-300kg. We have our regular clients who sell our tea under the brand name ‘Kanoka’ in their respective country,” shares Ms. Manmoyuri. Black leaf tea is preferred more than the green leaf tea in exports. “After receiving the organic certification the demand has gone up tremendously. We are getting many orders from all over the world. We also get many export orders of empty cotton tea bags.” All the orders are sent through Fedex.
In future plantation needs to be increased because, “The demand is more and our supply is less. To meet our growing demand we have to increase the plantation,” reveals Mr. Pallabjyoti Nath. He did graduation in Economics major from Guwahati University. After serving for few months in regular job he returned back to his hometown and became farmer. “I am extremely happy with the decision to get back to my roots,” he shares with a smile. Ms. Manmoyuri is lawyer by qualification but choose to be part of family business instead of practicing law.
They conclude, “We are contributing our share to take our village and state on International map. It is because of the exclusive quality of our hand crafted tea. We shall ensure to safeguard it by all means no matter if we produce less quantity but quality will never be on stake as reputation once built turns into legacy!”
Contact details:
Assamica Agro
Kanoka Tea Estate
Panchnoi, P.O. Hugrajuli, District: Sonitpur,
Assam - 784507, India
Phone: +91-8586893742/9864616501
Email: sales@assamicaagro.com
Web: http://www.assamicaorganictea.in/
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