Darjeeling Balasun FTGFOP1 Black Tea

Grown on the gently undulating hills and a wide valley, the tea bushes of "Balasun" Tea Garden produce one of the best Darjeeling teas in the region. Famous for its excellent quality and traditional muscatel-like flavour, this sparkling black tea is highly recommended for those who want to discover and delight in the complexity of a good Darjeeling Second Flush (Darjeeling from the Second Harvest).

The Darjeeling Balasun Tea Garden extends over an area of 181 hectares, with an altitude varying from 365 to 1375 metres above sea level. This is a charming place with contrasting colours and unparalleled beauty that offers beautiful panoramic views of the Kurseong Valley to the north. The name of the garden comes from the Balasun River which meanders along the bottom of the valley. Temperature fluctuations and drastic changes in altitude allow different varieties of tea to be cultivated, and Balasun is one of the few gardens that continue to produce teas from the original Chinese "Camellia sinensis sinensis" plants (51% of all tea plants growing in the plantation).

The Darjeeling Balasun Tea Garden is also known for the extraordinary beauty of its natural surroundings. It grows near the city of Nada, with its famous Tiger Hill nearby, from which you can contemplate an unforgettable dawn. Also nearby is Lake Senchal, surrounded by the lush forests of the nature reserve, with its great diversity of trees and flowers such as chestnuts, pines, birches, oaks, magnolias, orchids and rhododendrons. The surroundings of the lake are an ideal landscape for trekking and for nature lovers. The dense forests of the main area are a little distance from the lake and home to many species of wildlife, making it a very popular destination for birdwatchers.

The Darjeeling Balasun Tea Garden was founded in 1871 by M/S Davenport and Company Ltd. The last change of owner was in the year 2005 when the plantation was acquired by Jayshree Tea and Industries Ltd. The company invested heavily in the infrastructure of the factory and garden, as well as in employee welfare. The facilities were renovated and modernised, thereby achieving substantial improvements in the quality of the tea and making it one of the best-managed tea gardens. Today Balasun is among the most admired tea gardens in Darjeeling and is known in the region and around the world for producing the finest teas.