"Camellia sinensis" murmured Sunniappan, our driver and tour guide, to himself.
He was negotiating a particularly tricky bend on the hills of Munnar which boast of the verdant tea plantations in Kerala.
"Camellia, who?" we asked.
"Camellia sinensis is the botanical name of the tea plant" explained Sunniappan.
Once again, we were awed by the knowledge of the Keralite people. Along the way, Suniappan, who had trained to be a technician but ended up being a driver, gave us the botanical names of several plants and trees that fascinated us. His wife was a botanist and some of her knowledge had apparently rubbed off on him.
On the way to the resort where we stayed, we spotted some tea pickers dextrously plucking tender tea leaves. The scent of freshly picked tea leaves was heady and refreshing.
One of the tea pickers, Rani, flashed us a cheerful smile and asked in perfect English where we were from. These tea pickers are co-owners at the factory and share in its profits. Their families have good educational and medical facilities in the area.
At the Tea Museum, the next day, we saw a video about how the English explorers had found the hills of Kannan Devan suitable to grow tea - a prized possession in the colonial era.
English literature informs us that tea was kept under lock and key during Victorian times by the ladies of the house.
An elderly guide at the museum gave us a demonstration about the different varieties of tea - white, green, and black.
He claimed that the tea leaf was indeed the sanjeevani herb that prompted Hanuman to lift up the mountain. He went on to explain the health benefits of green tea as compared to the regular chai with milk and sugar that we drink everyday.
Our visit to the Lockhart Tea Factory proved to be very informative. An employee named Ravi took us around the factory and explained the withering, fermenting and other processes that go into making the different kinds of tea.
After a tour of the factory, Indra, a young lady who worked in their front office, served us the most refreshing tea from the factory.
During those three days at Munnar, we gathered a lot of information about tea and how to brew a good cuppa.
Keep watching this space for more.
Can't write more now because it's time to meet Camellia. In other words, time for tea!
