Tea -Cash Crops of Kerala

March 24th, 2007 | admin

Begin the day with a hot cup of tea – this is the common practice of majority of people in Kerala and India. There are also people that prefer coffee as their preferred wakeup beverage. The high ranges of Kerala greet visitors with unending strips of tea plantations.

Camellia Sinensis or the tea plant is cultivated in almost all the high ranges of Kerala, from Ponmudi in Thiruvanathapuram to the Munnar in Idukki district. Tata Tea, a subsidiary of Tata Group used to own 27 tea estates out of total 30. Now Tata has divested stocks and a few of the estates have gone to the hands of other entrepreneurs.

Like coffee, tea is also a source of caffeine. Young leaves of the tea – usually three leaves with bud are collected and send to a furnace for roasting and processing. The most common type produced here is black tea, which is the choice of most tea lovers. The tea leaves are first fermented and then roasted for oxidation. Green tea comes without roasting, which is now gaining popularity because of its perceived resistance against cancer growth.

Tea plucking is the most common source of employment for people of high mountain ranges of Kerala. A walk through tea plantations is always refreshing and rejuvenating.