Appealing to high-end consumers abroad and to the increasingly discerning tastes of the booming Indian middle class is a top priority for India's teahouses. The Tea Board of India won "geographical indication" status from the World Trade Organization for Darjeeling tea last year and is pursuing similar recognition for Assam tea, prized for full-bodied blends like English breakfast, and for the aromatic, copper-colored Nilgiri tea from southern India.

Tea producers are experimenting with delicate white teas, which are less processed and contain more antioxidants than black teas, and oolongs, which fall midway between green and black teas. Darjeeling is also leading a move toward organic farming, with a third of its estates now certified as chemical-free.

When the Ambootia Tea Group bought the 437-acre (177 hectare) Happy Valley tea estate in March, its tea bushes were old, its machinery was obsolete, and its workers had not been paid regular wages for months. Seven months on, the estate's new owners have hired new managers, started regular maintenance of the plants and soil and begun a move to organic farming.

Read the full article at Time Magazine.

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