Tea Estate Stay in India: What to Expect, Where to Go and How to Plan

(v) Water channels
These are used to control rainwater and drainage.

(vi) Different heights of tea bushes
Bushes can look different depending on pruning and growth stages.

(vii) Workers moving between sections
Tea workers can be seen carrying out different estate activities.

(viii) Areas under pruning
Some sections can be under regular maintenance and pruning.

A walk of around 60 to 90 minutes can give you a much better understanding of the plantation than simply looking at it from a road.

2. Watch Tea Leaves Being Plucked

Tea plucking is one of the most important parts of tea production. Workers select fresh leaves from the tea bushes, usually from specific plucking sections. One of the most common standards is:

2 leaves and a bud.

Tea plucking needs skill because workers have to identify the right shoots across thousands of tea bushes. You can see tea plucking during certain seasons and production periods, but it is not available every day of the year.

Tea plucking depends on:

(i) Weather
Heavy rain, strong sun and temperature can affect plantation work.

(ii) Rainfall
Rainfall affects new leaf growth and the plucking schedule.