The Green Island in the Mountains: Jungpana Tea Estate
Few names are as synonymous with high-quality tea tradition as Darjeeling. Typically associated with easy everyday drinking, the “Champagne of Teas” is a staple on German kitchen shelves and a go-to pick for every occasion that calls for a steaming cup. As a region, Darjeeling delivers more than enough seasonal harvests of varying character and intensity for an entire collection. For Eduard/Himalaya, it was the ideal vantage point to meet tea drinkers somewhere familiar before venturing into lesser known territory on the other side of the mountains.
The hustle and bustle of West Bengal’s densely populated cities forms a stark contrast to the quiet serenity of the tea gardens. Darjeeling town is sought out by domestic and international tourists for its toy trains and picturesque panoramas that earned it its nickname as the “Queen of the HIlls”. On clear days, Kangchenjunga, the third tallest mountain on earth, can be admired from a viewpoint just outside of town.
Healthy Soil, Healthy Mankind
A leading figure for tea in the region is Rajah Banerjee, a man who, according to Eduardo, can quiet a room just by entering it. His Rimpocha project has been a driving force behind Darjeeling’s changing agriculture. Rimpocha, a wordplay of “Rinpoche”, a Buddhist term for a revered teacher or elder, and “Cha”, meaning tea, is an organization built to teach farmers to implement organic methods and grow resilient against increasingly extreme climates. Banerjee’s workshops empower small businesses and encourage change towards sustainable practices, including fair wages for the (mostly female) workers on the tea fields. His philosophy “Healthy Soil, Healthy Mankind” has been adopted by most producers in the region, including Jungpana Tea estate.
Banerjee and Jungpana are portrayed in this recent documentary by Deutsche Welle.
A zip-line for tea
Stepping inside the factory is an intense sensory experience: The air is thick with the scent of freshly plucked tea leaves as they wilt and transform. Jungpana is the largest of three estates that feature in the Himalaya collection. Founded in 1899, it is renowned enough to sell its teas on its name alone. But instead of resting on their laurels, its operators continuously strive to improve their craft and deepen their connection to the surrounding land. Nicknamed “green island in the mountains” and once so secluded it was only reachable on foot, the estate has upgraded its infrastructure in recent years. A connecting road and bridge provide easier access, and using gas instead of wood makes labor more efficient and easier on factory workers. But some of the original methods remain unchallenged: What would be a 50-kilometer drive between the fields and the factory is bridged by a two-kilometer ropeway, which transports the harvest from one hill to another within minutes using gravity alone. Old enough that nobody on the estate today remembers when and how it was built, it continues to save valuable time and power.
In 2022, Jungpana was acquired by Mayfair Hotels, whose investments are crucial to the continued modernization and expansion of environmentally conscious farming. In line with Rimpocha’s values, the group has committed to support 250 local families connected to the estate through community development, stable employment, and women’s economic empowerment. An added emphasis on tourism with immersive experiences centered on tea tasting, education, and direct engagement with the landscape adds yet another hopeful outlook for the future: In an era when many gardens face uncertainty, Jungpana represents a rare example of how heritage, sustainability, and contemporary vision can come together to secure the future of one of Darjeeling’s most iconic tea estates.
