Soom 1st Flush

Description

Soom 1st Flush

1st Flush occurs in Darjeeling from March through to mid April. During this period the tea bushes begun “flushing” (read growing) after the winter dormancy period. Vigorous flushing occurs because the daytime temperature has raisin 5 to 7 degrees Celsius (from 10-12 to 20 Celsius). The hours of daylight have increased, and despite the fact that the weather is dry there is excellent moisture retention in the soil from the winter rains.

All these factors in the rarefied mountain air help produce this stunning tea. The terrain of Soom is very severe with some of the slopes approaching 45 degrees. The slopes are so steep that the estate still caries the green leaf to the factory by mountain pony.

Many of the bushes are over 130 years old but produce remarkable tea; in fact it is not uncommon for some 1st Flush teas to be rushed to Germany in a race similar to the Beaujolais Run.

The are several theories about the origin of the name of the estate. “Soom” in Lepcha Language (local dialect) means “Three” or “Triangular”. Interestingly the estate is bounded by three streams and is somewhat triangular in shape. Another school of thought is Soom also means “holy abodee” and as Soom has a holy deity who is worshiped, it is possible the name originated from here. The factory burned to the ground in 1995 and was out of production for 1,5 years.#

The new factory has all modern equipment. Top tea estates perform a social function and Soom is exemplary in this regard.The estate not only employe 700 people, but provides housing, food and medical needs for the families resulting in about 2000 people living on the estate in full view of the Himalayan Mountains.

Try now and enjoy the delicious Soom 1st Flush – An excellent example of a 1st flush Darjeeling.