"Lewis Perin" > wrote in message
news
> "DPM" > writes:
>
> > [...]
> >
> > I suggest you try to find second flush tea from estates like
> > Makaibari , Margaret's Hope, Jungpana, Arya and Puttabong.
> > Makaibari , in particular produces wonderful tea - I've bought them
> > for years and never had a bad one. I'm guessing you live in Sweden
> > from your domain; look for online vendors in Germany - they get some
> > of the best Darjeeling on the market. If after trying Makaibari you
> > still don't like it then you just don't like Darjeeling.
>
> Sorry to make this quest a bit more arduous, but it really is possible
> to get insipid tea under the Makaibari label. The Makaibari I bought
> in a grocery store in a prosperous neighborhood in Calcutta late last
> winter, with no flush or year information on the package, had nothing
> that was unmistakably Darjeeling about it. It's quite possible,
> though, that Makaibari keeps tea like this from the export market.
>
> /Lew
>
Lew,

Well, you're right: I've never bought Makaibari tea from any but (as far as
I can tell) reputable online vendors like Upton. Who knows if the tea you
bought even came from Makaibari or used a counterfeit label? I have heard
from several individuals who live or have lived in India that the very best
Darjeeling is exported because the estates can command a price that most of
the domestic market will or cannot pay. Perhaps you're right though, that
even estates like Makaibari may produce tea for the domestic market that
would never make it for export.

Regards,
Dean