A part of Arunachal Pradesh sipped by the Siang River on Tuesday to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a tea twist.
The Arunachal Pradesh Agriculture Marketing Board (APAMB) slotted the first Arunachal Tea Festival on the day associated globally with the commercial celebration of romance to “brew love” for locally-produced teas.
The event involving small-tea growers across the State and entrepreneurs who brand niche teas was held at a resort on the banks of the Siang River in Pasighat, the headquarters of the East Siang district.
“We do not have big estates and factories but there are small tea growers who have been braving challenges to produce various kinds of teas on a small scale. This festival was envisaged to celebrate a day for love by showcasing various grades, qualities and brands of local tea,” APAMB’s chief executive officer, Okit Palling told The Hindu.
Photo: Special Arrangement
The idea was to promote tea drinking among the youth and give a platform for tea growers, entrepreneurs and marketing specialists for sharing knowledge and information, he said.
The State’s Agriculture and Horticulture Minister, Tage Taki said on Tuesday that the festival would be made a calendar event under APAMB and efforts would be made to expand the scope and scale of the event from the next edition.
“Tea growers in the State should move towards becoming fully organic to ensure a healthy drink remains healthy,” he said.
Tea cultivation in Arunachal Pradesh has a long history with the Singpho people having grown and brewed it for centuries. Members of the community taught the British who spawned an industry out of it in adjoining Assam.
State Agriculture Minister Tage Taki enjoying the tea. Photo: Special Arrangement
The Assam tea industry is currently celebrating 200 years of existence based on the “discovery” of tea by British planters.
The traditional teas brewed inside bamboo tubes by the Singpho and Tangsa people, known as ‘phalap’, is among the most sought-after teas by connoisseurs of the beverage.
Tea grown in Arunachal Pradesh caught global attention in 2018 when a special orthodox variety from the Donyi Polo Tea Estate in the East Siang district’s Oyan was auctioned for ₹40,000 a kg.
