Kanoka Tea Estate
Panchnoi, Assam, India
Kanoka Tea Estate
Grower: Kanoka Tea Estate
Tea Makers: Pallabjyoti Nath & Pranabjyoti Nath
Origin: Panchnoi Village near Tezpur – Sonitpur District, Assam, India
Elevation: 45m (147ft)
Cultivation: Certified Organic — NOP India
Signature Tea: Kanoka Rolled Assam
Camellia Sinensis Assamica.
Kanoka Tea Estate is located in Panchnoi in Assam, a large tea-producing region in Northern India. It is a low-lying area with a tropical, humid climate and rich clay soils. The land is fed by the Brahmaputra River and heavy monsoon rains. Camellia sinensis assamica, with large leaves, is most prevalent here.
CTC - Crush, Tear, Curl Tea.
In Assam, tea workers struggle to profit from their labors, as most don’t have the knowledge or ability to craft quality teas. Tea pluckers are paid USD$1.50 a day at most for very difficult work with no opportunities for personal growth or advancement. Small family growers are also paid very little for selling their raw leaf to the factories. The region mostly produces CTC (Crush Tear Curl) tea, which is generally regarded as a low-grade style of tea, predominantly used in tea bags. It is the tea type typically used in traditional Indian Masala Chai. Unfortunately, CTC tea production is limiting to the growth of small tea farming families, because its production is focused on quantity, it’s highly-mechanized and requires very little processing skill. However, premium tea production techniques are slowly becoming more prevalent into the area.
Georgia probably isn’t on your short list of countries that produce world-class teas. You’ve probably never had Georgian tea—or even knew it was grown there. And we’re not talking the U.S. state of Georgia, but rather the Republic of Georgia that sits on the far-eastern boarder of Europe. nestled between Russia, Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
But tea from Georgia? Here’s how it happened.
The Brothers Nath.
Kanoka Tea Estate is a small, family-owned tea farm in central Assam. Located in Panchnoi Village in the Sonitpur District, the estate benefits from the heavy precipitation and humid climate in this area, which contributes to the robust, malty taste of Assam tea. The tea gardens cover a total of 6 acres, and are managed by brothers, Pallabjyoti and Pranabjyoti Nath, and Pranabjyoti’s wife, Manmoyuri.
Natural, Sustainable Cultivation.
The estate uses all-natural Vriksayurveda agricultural techniques. These ancient Indian plant sciences focus on the health and lifecycle of the plant and soil, using natural herbal medicines to help enrich them. Kanoka Tea Estate is also a member of Assamica Agro, a local cooperative that promotes sustainability in tea production, with the use of local vermicomposting and cow-based fertilizer. The members of the cooperative are continually working to develop new techniques.
While there are other all-natural estates in Assam, many of them are in conversion from conventional agriculture. The Nath Family is the first to cultivate this land, which has never had pesticides or chemicals applied to it. To keep the garden from becoming overgrown, the Kanoka team weeds the fields manually.
The estate’s smooth, complex teas are the result of careful handcrafting using natural materials. Every step of the tea-making process is executed with great care and attention. All Kanoka teas are hand plucked and hand processed, resulting in true hand-crafted artisanal teas.