Delve into the rich heritage and scenic charm of the Nilgiri Hills in our article, The Blue Hills of India, published in our Spring 2025 Quarterly. To download a PDF version of the Upton Tea Imports Spring 2025 Quarterly, please Click Here.
A new day dawns over the Nilgiri Hills of south India, the rising sun slowly illuminating the vast swaths of verdant tea fields, terraced into the steep mountainsides in a series of horizontal ridges to minimize erosion and conserve moisture. Towering eucalyptus trees stand sentinel over the fields, helping to improve soil micronutrients. These aromatic trees impart a desirable refreshing undertone to the cup steeped from the premium tea leaves.
Running down the southwestern tip of India from the states of Kerala to Tamil Nadu, approximately 1,500 miles south of Darjeeling and Assam, the undulating Nilgiri Hills are veiled in a vivid blue haze. Derived from the Tamil words neelam (blue) and giri (hills or mountains), literature speculates that the vivid purple-blue color of kurinji flowers (Strobilanthes kunthiana), which mass bloom across the hills every 12 years, inspired the name.
With a geographic area that stretches over 35 miles long by 20 miles wide, elevations range from the foothills at 4,000 feet to the highest peaks that touch the clouds at over 8,000 feet. This is the land of indigenous tribes such as the Toda, Badaga, and Kota communities, Dravidian ethnolinguistic families of people that speak variations of this ancient language that originated approximately 4,500 years ago. The cultural tapestry of their customs, traditions, and handicrafts, such as intricate red and black woven embroidery, is as rich and varied as the land they call home.
A blue-green mosaic of tropical forests, jungles, valleys, high plateaus, and grasslands, threaded with winding streams and rivers, provides the perfect growing conditions for tea. The subtropical climate, with its mild winters and humidity from two monsoon seasons, enables the tea bushes to thrive year-round, without any seasonal flushes. A monsoon is a seasonal wind pattern that is characterized by a significant change in wind direction, which typically results in distinct wet and dry seasons.
In the Nilgiri Hills, April starts the summer season with comfortable temperatures that range 70°- 85°F through mid-June. Twenty-five percent of the annual tea crop is harvested in April and May. The southwest monsoon, kwaar, arrives in mid-June, lasting through the end of July. A short respite from the rain occurs from August through September, followed by the northeast monsoon, kerr, which brings torrential rains that clear the air in October and November, making everything smell fresh. During this time, 35-40% of the annual crop is harvested. The rainfall total from the monsoon seasons is approximately 80 inches per year. The dry season of winter begins in December and continues until mid-February, with warm, sunny days (65°-70°F) and cool nights (40°-50°F). This is prime plucking season when the highly sought-after “Winter Frost” teas are produced.
When winter temperatures drop, the cold and frost stress the tea bushes. As a defense mechanism, the leaves develop and concentrate aromatic compounds within, which results in a wonderfully complex flavor profile. Buds barely a week old are harvested before sunrise on clear January mornings when temperatures range 35-40°F. The tea leaves are quickly transported to the factory and carefully laid out in withering lofts where they undergo an accelerated withering/defrosting process that encourages the fruity, floral flavor profile defining a “frost” tea. To sample this unique flavor, we invite you to try our “Winter Frost” tea from the Kairbetta Estate, a full, rich cup with a fresh, floral character, harvested this winter and arriving in February.
Founded in 1887 by an English gentleman, J.T. Murray, the Kairbetta Estate sits at 6,500 feet, and is located near the town of Kotagiri, in the state of Tamil Nadu. Black tea production started in earnest when a tea factory was built there in 1926. The tea gardens are shaded here and there by silver oak (Grevillea robusta) trees, which grow abundantly in the cool, misty climate. Fast-growing evergreen trees that get their name from the white-silver color on the undersides of their leaves, they are the ideal companions to maintain soil moisture and consistent soil temperature, and to provide protection as a windbreak.
The tea plant first arrived in the Nilgiri Hills in the 1830s. The British wanted to grow tea in India to end China’s monopoly in the world tea trade, so a special tea committee was formed to research the most ideal places in India to grow tea. The committee sent its secretary, G.J. Gordon, to China on the sailing ship, Water Witch, to obtain tea seeds, 15 years before Scottish botanist Robert Fortune traveled there with the same purpose. Gordon brought back 80,000 seeds, 20,000 of which were planted at the Botanical Gardens of Calcutta, with the rest divided among Assam, Darjeeling, and the Madras Presidency, a British administrative province of southern India. On an experimental farm in the Nilgiri Hills, the Chinese tea seeds flourished under the care of a French botanist, M. Perrottet. Based on this tea-growing success in that area, British settlers braved perilous journeys through thick jungles, filled with dangerous wildlife, to set up tea gardens.
In 1854, Henry Mann established the first tea estate near Conoor in the Nilgiri Hills, using Camellia sinensis seeds obtained from Robert Fortune’s 1848 trip to China. Because the climate of the Nilgiri Hills was so hospitable to tea cultivation, the number of tea estates rapidly expanded. By 1898, over 3,000 acres were planted in tea bushes.
Tea gardens at 4,000 feet elevation produce teas that are dark and strong. The Anamalai (“Elephant Mountain”) range rises steeply from the plains of Tamil Nadu. As the road climbs 4,000 feet through dense rainforest into the heart of the mountain range, markers keep count of the hairpin bends along the way. This is the home of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, a 600-square-mile sanctuary for native elephants, tigers, leopards, bison, peacocks, and spotted deer, to name a few. At marker 32, the road to the Iyerpadi Estate, one of 27 tea estates located in these mountains, forks off. The 1,000 acres at Iyerpadi are managed organically, with no chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers allowed. Their research team has developed bio-pesticides and foliar sprays that strengthen the immune systems of the tea bushes. Vermicompost (from earthworms) and mulching improve the soil. The tea pluckers venture out early in the cool mornings when the mist rolls down from the mountains, bringing moisture to the bushes. In this subtropical climate, some of the original bushes planted in the late 1800s are still growing alongside new clonal bushes that have been created from the China varietal. Tea bushes cover the slopes of the hills like a plush carpet of green velvet, punctuated by tall, graceful silhouettes of shade trees.
We offer two strong organic black tea selections from Iyerpadi Estate — TN68: Iyerpadi Estate OP and TN64: Iyerpadi Estate BOP. Each of these high-quality offerings steeps a hearty, balanced cup with vibrant character.
Located near the hill station of Conoor in Tamil Nadu, the Glendale Estate, whose name means “valley within a valley,” spreads across 1,300 acres, with a combination of Assam hybrid tea bushes from the garden’s initial planting in the 1860s and clonal tea bushes created to produce the highest-quality leaves. With elevations ranging 5,400-7,000 feet and a cold, dry, and misty climate, the leaves produce a cup with a brisk, golden color and distinctive floral aroma. The estate’s main factory building, built in 1900, uses cold air for withering the tea leaves. For the firing process, hot water, rather than flame, is used for heating, not only to maintain a consistent temperature, but also to keep the resulting flavor from being affected by smoke.
We are proud to offer two outstanding selections from the Glendale Estate — TN71: Glendale Estate Orange Twist and TN72: Season’s Pick Glendale Estate Select FP Supreme.
Nilgiri black tea has long been enjoyed in India as the base tea for their immensely popular masala chai (“mixed-spice tea”). The practice of adding spices to boiling water is a part of Indian culture that dates back thousands of years. As tea spread throughout India after its introduction in the 1800s, tea vendors, also known as chai wallas, started adding spices to the tea they served. If you’d like to experiment with adding spices to your cup of Nilgiri tea, we offer a wonderful blend of traditional chai spices, BH33: Chai Namaste Organic. If you prefer, we also offer TE30: Traditional Masala Chai, an Assam tea blended with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and clove.
When ice is added, Nilgiri tea does not cloud as often happens with other black teas. As the weather warms, our TN10: Nilgiri BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe) is the perfect, great-value choice for your next frosty glass.
Tea is a vital part of the local economy and culture of the Blue Hills of south India. We invite you to explore our collection of Nilgiri teas and discover their unique qualities — fragrant aroma, smooth flavor, and year-round availability. Whether enjoyed hot or as a refreshing iced tea, this ‘Fragrant One’ from this very special region will be sure to captivate your senses.