Factory information
Having now developed a range of unique teas, the Tea Studio team constantly experiment and innovate. Out of the box ideas and solutions have resulted in the development of some radically different styles of teas.
Tea Studio has crystallized into a revolutionary institution. Our manufacturing processes have already raised the bar for the industry and continue to improve.
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The Studio has almost 'naturally' begun to offer educational workshops, imparting knowledge and experience to small scale producers in India and from overseas, who wish to be mentored in the craft of producing Speciality Teas.
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Another offshoot activity that has developed is receiving groups of tea enthusiasts from around the World, giving them the opportunity to make tea with us to learn the essentials of tea manufacture.
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While crafting unique teas, we have not overlooked our social responsibility and are setting aside a percentage of revenues for local village welfare schemes.
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Check out the blog for some of the many articles that have been written about this cutting edge project.
The Machines
With their tea culture spanning almost 5,000 years, the Chinese are unquestionably the masters. Mechanically transforming the way ‘hand-made’ teas are produced. Ironically while on one hand there is a struggle to continue artisanal practices, on the other, the demand for large volumes of such teas has made it not just expensive but almost impossible to manually craft such artisanal teas. To bridge the gap, a whole range of very specialized machines have been developed to mimic the manipulation and manual actions required for crafting different styles of finished tea. Staying one step ahead of the curve, we have taken full advantage of these innovations, equipping the Tea Studio with a wide range of cutting edge machines from China which enable us to craft a host of styles of finished leaf.
Adding to that, our continuous experimentation with varied levels of oxidation possible has enabled us to literally open up a whole new world of Tea Making. What we have before us is a very exciting playing field.
The Building
Designed by a young dynamic architect whose only brief was to think out of the box, the resulting building enhances the uniqueness of the product.
During the development of the building’s design we already had a good idea of what we were looking for. Once initial plans were drawn up by the team we consulted with tea producers and Tea Institute experts from Taiwan, China, Japan, and Darjeeling before letting the architect loose Gradually the designs were refined in to the final 'state of the art' structure you see here.
The Leaf
The very fine quality of Green Leaf required for our teas is supplied to the Studio by marginal tribal farmers who tend their tiny family land holdings (½ - ¼ acre plots) in the vicinity of the Studio. These holdings cultivated organically, while not certified due to practical constraints, are deemed to be naturally Organic. A statement emanating from the fact that no chemicals or pesticides have ever been used by these farmers in decades, because they simply cannot afford the cost.
On which we base our claim that our teas are organic, having been tested for residues, to prove that they are all EU/ US compliant. (See blog on test results)
The Nilgiri region is a great source of both clonal and classic seed-grown tea of both Camellia sinensis var.sinensis and Camellia sinensis var.assamica varieties. Plans to grow cultivars from other regions are already on the drawing board.
'Ladypower'
The Studio is committed to women empowerment. Employing no men, our tiny workforce are all educated women from the neighbouring village, each one of whom is now an integral part of the Studio family.
Vaideghi Kannan. Our tea maker and supervisor. 33 years old and a high school graduate, mother of two. Her family have a couple of small tea holdings nearby and are one of the suppliers of leaf to the Tea Studio.
Chitra. 28 years old and the mother of a 4 year old son. Her family has a small tea holding in the nearby village. Chitra's husband works as the night watchman for the Tea Studio.
Pavitra. 21 years old, has completed her teachers training course. instead of moving to a city to pursue a teaching carrier Pavitra prefers to live with her parents in the village and work in the Studio.
Kalpana. 22 years old and a graduate with a B.A. degree. Lives with her parents in the adjoining village and enjoys working at the Studio. As with all the villagers, her family too has a small tea holding which supplies leaf to the Studio.
Fuel
Environmentally Friendly
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Staunchly adhering to sustainable green practices, the Studio has pioneered the use of LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) in the region. Unlike most tea factories, we do not use any coal or firewood and are proudly low environmental impact. As a result the air in and around the Studio is noticeably cleaner and the surrounding valley is under no risk from contaminants.
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