Darjeeling tea gardens
The monsoon decides whether you see the mountain; the bush decides what is in your cup. If watching the pluckers is the point of your trip, the bush is the clock to set your dates by.
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December to February
Plucking stops in December. The gardens are pruned, the factories fall quiet, and on an estate the guide shows you the pruning instead. Skies are hard and blue, and the table matters more than the leaf.
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Late February
As the pruned bushes put out their first tender shoots, plucking starts again and the factory floor runs once more, mornings only. The last week of February is the earliest chance of the year to watch the pluckers at work.
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March and April
The first pluck gives light, floral teas with a pale gold cup, and the factories start early in the day. Spring days run around 16 to 24 °C (61 to 75 °F), with haze thickening towards May.
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May and June
The fuller, coppery second flush, the tea whose muscatel character made Darjeeling's name. Showers build most afternoons and haze usually takes the range by breakfast: plan factory mornings and tastings, not mountain dawns.
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July to September
The gardens keep plucking between downpours, and the estates stay open, green and quiet. This leaf is plainer and mostly sold into blends. Slides can close the roads up from the plains, so we keep tea journeys out of mid June to mid September.
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October and November
Mellow, darker autumn teas, plucked until late November, while the mountain mornings are at their clearest. It is the last season of the year to follow the leaf from bush to factory, and some of the fullest weeks for rooms, so write early.
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Choosing dates
If the pluckers matter most, come from late February to May, or in October and November. Choose your weeks by the bush first and the hotel second.
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