Treasure of tea loaded with anti-ageing, medicinal values

Guwahati: In what has converted the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre into a destination for world’s quality tea, the famous Gold Tea contains compounds that improve the functioning of brain and also act as anti-cancerous elements.

Informing that several studies have already been carried out on medicinal value of the rare variety of Assam’s Gold Tea, the director of Manohari Tea Estate, Mr Rajen Lohia said that it is made with the finest clones, the P-126 which is said to be the best clone for making tea in the world.  

Pointing out that the clones are plucked in the early hours to prevent the sun from altering its distinct aroma and flavour, he said that it is an orthodox variety that yields golden-tipped leaves, unlike most tea leaves from Assam that end up looking black in colour.

“It looks like 24 carat gold and was first invented by Manohari Tea Estate, Dibrugarh, in the Brahmaputra Valley of upper Assam. The Gold Tea created history in Sale No.31 held on July 30, 2019 at Guwahati Tea Auction Centre by fetching a price of Rs 50,000 per kilogram,” he said.

Admitting that there are only a few tea gardens which are focusing on producing the specialty tea, the tea traders said that growing awareness about the medicinal value of such tea has increased the demand.

Referring several studies, Mr Lohia said that Gold Tea is the healthiest beverage on the planet. “It is loaded with antioxidants and nutrients that have powerful effects on the body and many other impressive benefits,” he added.

“It contains bioactive compound that improves health and is also a detoxicant,” he said adding that anti-toxidants act as an anti ageing element that also helps in losing weight besides reducing the risk of obesity.

“In order to feel better, lose weight and lower your risk of chronic diseases, you might want to consider making Gold Tea a regular part of your life,” said Mr Lohia who admitted that poor condition of tea industry was not allowing the planters in focusing on quality production.

It is significant that GTAC saw another record when a lot of 1 kg tea was sold at Rs 75,000. The tea – ‘Golden Butterfly’ – is a speciality tea and was produced by Dikom Tea Estate owned by Rossell Tea Company.

The tea is bought by one of the oldest tea shops in Guwahati – M/s Assam Tea Traders for their customers. They have bought a lot of specialty tea in the past auctions at high prices.

The tea is named Golden Butterfly because only the soft golden tips go into making this rare tea. In the evenings, these exclusive tea bushes witness a fleet of butterflies and hence the name reflects the meticulous care and attention to crop husbandry in Dikom’s tea fields.

Expressing his happiness over the production and frequent arrival of specialty tea in auction, the GTAC secretary Dinesh Bihani, said, “The GTAC is facilitating an opportunity to all the sellers who want to sell their teas at remunerative prices. The best teas are always in good demand and the buyers are always ready to pay a handsome price. The auction centre is now a world recognised tea hub for quality and speciality teas.”