Every tea connoisseur swears by a cup of Assam tea. Also known as a breakfast tea, it is popular across the globe for its bright colour and robust flavour. From a local tea shop to the best of the restaurants and hotels, you will find a packet of Assam tea holding a constant place in the menu. However, the quality of the tea leaves varies from place to place. For the uninitiated, the premium quality Assam tea leaves are often sold at a high price to different places around the world. In fact, auctions are held by various organisations every year where the leaves are sold at a record price. One such tea auction centre that recently grabbed the spotlight is Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) in Assam.
Amidst the on-going Covid-19 pandemic, GTAC created a new record on Tuesday by selling a special variety of tea for Rs. 75,000 per kg. This has been the highest bid this year (2020). Popularly referred to as Manohari Gold Specialty Tea, this special variety of tea was purchased by city-based tea trader Vishnu Tea Company, who is known to sell it across the globe through their e-commerce platform.
As per Guwahati Tea Auction Buyer's Association (GTABA), secretary, Dinesh Bihani, the tea was sold by Contemporary Brokers Private Limited, after a gap of one year.
"This is a great achievement amidst the global pandemic when the entire world is affected. Manohari Tea Estate has made extra effort to produce this speciality tea in the month of September and sent it to GTAC for sale, (sic)" the GTABA secretary stated.
According to a report in PTI, the same tea garden made a record last year by selling the same variety of tea at Rs. 50,000. This year, Manohari Gold Speciality Tea "broke its own record", added Bihani.