How Sikkim got one tea estate
Darjeeling, just over the Rangeet river, has had tea estates since the 1850s. Sikkim, an independent kingdom under the Namgyal Chogyals until 1975, did not. The Temi estate was started in 1969, in the reign of Palden Thondup Namgyal, the last Chogyal, on the southern slopes of the Tendong range. It brought a new cash crop and steady wage work to a district whose farms then grew mainly maize, millet, paddy and large cardamom.
Today the garden covers about 177 hectares (roughly 440 acres) and is run under the Sikkim government's tea board. According to the Wikipedia article on the estate, it employs around 400 workers, most from the villages around it, and produces in the region of 100 tonnes of made tea a year, much of it sold at auction in Kolkata and the rest packed under the estate's own names. The best grades go under the Temi label; others are sold as Sikkim Solja, Mystique and Kanchenjunga Tea.
Since 2005 the estate has been converted to organic methods, in line with Sikkim's state-wide move to organic farming; Sikkim was declared fully organic in January 2016. In practice that means cattle manure, neem cake and vermicompost rather than chemical inputs, and you will see the compost pits beside the estate road.
The land and the leaf
The tea grows on a long, gently tilted slope that falls from about 1,800 m near the top road to roughly 1,200 m at the bottom, with the factory and outlet in the middle. The rows catch the morning sun, and the mist that rolls up from the Teesta valley most afternoons slows the leaf's growth, which is part of what gives hill teas their flavour. On clear mornings between October and April you see the Kangchenjunga range above the rows.
Temi makes orthodox tea, the whole-leaf kind that is withered, rolled, oxidised and dried, as opposed to the CTC granules used for masala chai in the plains. Grown in a cool hill climate, it gives a lighter, flowery cup much closer to a Darjeeling than to an Assam, and tea tasters often compare the two.
The four flushes, month by month
A flush is a growth cycle: the bushes put out new shoots, the pluckers take the bud and the top two leaves, and the bush rests before flushing again. Each flush has its own character, which is why the same estate's tea can taste quite different in April and October. Plucking stops in winter, roughly December to February, when the bushes are pruned and rest.
If you only buy one packet, look for a first flush from the current year, sealed and dated. If you prefer a fuller cup with milk, the second flush is the one.
Plucking is skilled work, done mostly by women who move along the rows with baskets on their backs, held by a strap across the forehead. A good plucker takes only the bud and two leaves, by hand, and fills a basket several times a day; the leaf is weighed at collection points on the estate road before it goes to the factory. Watching that rhythm for a quarter of an hour tells you more about the price of a good cup than any label.
| Flush | When it is plucked | In the cup | For visitors |
|---|---|---|---|
| First (spring) flush | Late March–April | Pale, floral, brisk; the most prized and priced | Plucking in full swing, clear views, rhododendrons on the hills |
| Second (summer) flush | May–June | Amber, fuller body, a muscatel edge | Warm days, more haze, pre-monsoon showers |
| Monsoon (rains) flush | July–September | Strong, plain, mostly for blends | Wet, leeches on paths; factory tours often paused |
| Autumn flush | October–November | Copper, smooth, mellow | Clear skies, cherry blossom in November |
We turn this into a priced, day-by-day plan for your dates.
Visiting the estate
The estate road is public and you can walk it freely. The most rewarding plan is to arrive by 9 am, walk down through the rows for an hour while pluckers are at work, and finish at the outlet near the factory, where you can taste and buy. Ask before photographing people working, and stay on paths: the bushes are someone's livelihood, and stepping into the rows damages them.
Factory visits depend on the day. When processing is light the staff often let small groups see the withering troughs, rolling machines, driers and sorting room; in the monsoon months and during the busiest weeks of a flush they usually do not. There is no fixed tour schedule, so treat a factory visit as a bonus rather than a promise, and check current status before you travel.
Temi is about 20 km from Ravangla (around an hour), 40 km from Namchi (about 1.5 hours) and 60 km from Gangtok (about 2.5 hours via Singtam). It fits as a stop between Ravangla and Gangtok, or as a half-day trip from Ravangla combined with Ralang or Buddha Park.
- Walk the estate road: free
- Tea packets at the outlet: from about ₹200 for everyday grades, much more for top first flush
- Reserved small car, Ravangla–Temi–Ravangla: ≈ ₹1,800–2,500
- Best hours: 8–11 am, before the afternoon mist
Cherry blossom and the November season
The wild Himalayan cherry, Prunus cerasoides, flowers pink in late October and November, the opposite season to Japan's cherry trees. Temi's estate road is lined with them, and Sikkim Tourism has held a tea and cherry blossom festival here in some years, with stalls, local food and music. It is not held every year and dates vary, so check current status before you travel. Even without a festival, November is our favourite month at Temi: clear air, the autumn flush in the factory, and pink trees over green rows.
Staying at or near Temi
The estate itself has a small guest house, bookable through the factory, which is basic but puts you inside the garden at dawn. A few resorts and homestays sit along the road above and below the estate, and Ravangla, an hour away, has the widest range of rooms at every price.
For a slow trip we like one night at Temi and two at Ravangla, or a Temi night on the way from Ravangla to Gangtok. A night here lets you walk the rows at 7 am, when the light is low and the pluckers are just starting, which no day trip can match.
Evenings at Temi are quiet: there is no market to speak of, so eat where you stay. Most places serve simple Nepali home food, dal, rice, seasonal greens, a vegetable or chicken curry and pickles made with dalle khursani, the round red chilli of Sikkim. Ask for a pot of the estate's own tea after dinner; it is the best way to judge which grade to buy the next morning.
Buying and brewing Temi tea
Buy at the estate outlet or at the government-run outlets in Gangtok rather than from roadside stalls, where packets can be old or not from Temi at all. Check the season and grade on the pack. Store tea airtight and away from light; first flush loses its brightness within a year.
To brew a first or autumn flush the way the estate staff suggest, use water just off the boil, about 2.5 g (a heaped teaspoon) per cup, and steep for three to four minutes. Drink it without milk. A second flush can take a splash of milk. Do not boil the leaf in a pan with milk and sugar, as you would with CTC tea: you will lose everything that makes it worth the price.
Rules, fees, fares and road status change often. Check current status before you travel.
