My new friends at Makaibari

I went to the office of Mr. Banerjee around 9:30 in the morning on Tuesday. The waiting room that must also be used for meetings, has a large table. His assistant was in the room closest to his office. This is where tea tastings take place. She immediately brought me a cup of first flush darjeeling tea. This was the best cup of tea I have had in India to date. The first thing I noticed were the pictures of the four generations of Banerjee's that have run the estate.

Makaibari Tea Estate was founded in 1859. It was the first Indian owned tea estate. All other ones were owned by the British. The estate is 1574 acres. It was the first certified organic tea estate in 1988. It became bio-dynamic in the 1990's. It was also the first tea estate to gain fair trade certification in 2006.

There are a few other offices on this floor. While I was waiting, I also noticed all the magazine articles and awards on the walls.

Soon I was asked to come into Mr. Banerjee's office. He asked me if I had emailed him. I said yes, and that he directed me to Nayan Lama in the homestay program. I told him where I was staying and he said some nice things about the family I am staying with.

We spent about 45 minutes together on and off. He had a busy week and a journalist waiting outside his office. Plus he had to make some calls, do a quick tea tasting, and sign some paperwork while I was there. He is a charismatic man and a true visionary. He believes in giving everyone opportunities. What they do with them is their own decision. I felt so energized after speaking with him. Much of his philosophy held true with me and made complete sense.

The homestay program gives 70% of the earnings to the family, 20% goes to the homestay office, and 10% goes to the estate. And within the family, the money goes to the woman of the household. The belief is to empower the woman and the family unit will prosper. The women do some of the hardest work in the family and are not always compensated appropriately.

So because the factory was closed the previous day, there is no tea production. I will meet up with Sanjee, the plant manager, tomorrow morning to get a factory tour.

Meanwhile, I was offered a chance to pluck tea leaves after lunch. I jumped at the opportunity. I met Nayan and he gave me a basket and rope to hold the basket. He let me loose with a group of 20 experienced workers.

They showed me how to pluck -- two leaves and a bud. I certainly gave the women plenty to laugh about that afternoon. In the beginning, I am sure they sent me to the areas already plucked because I wasn't finding much new growth on any plant. Plus they sent me up the steepest slopes. I am sure of it. But after about 15 minutes, I went my own way and finally found a bush that yielded many handfuls of tea leaves. Every once in a while, they would check my basket and say "fine". So even though I may have been slow, I was picking correctly.

However, at one point Mr. Banerjee walked in the fields with two guests. I got scolded for picking below the "table". I wasn't aware that I had to pick from the top of the bush. Otherwise the plant's core can be damaged. The supervisor set me straight and showed me the difference.

My previous experience picking beans and peas during my teens taught me to check the entire bush. We were not to leave any vegetables on the plant. This was not the case for tea.

During our break the woman that spoke the most English asked me all sorts of questions about myself. I feel like they all finally accepted me, especially when they asked if I would be coming to pluck tomorrow.

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