Silver needle white tea powder in Tamil Nadu sold for Rs 16,400 per Kg at international auction

Team Udayavani, Jun 30, 2021, 10:56 AM IST

Source: unsplash

A kilogram of silver needle white tea powder from a factory in ​​Coonoor from the Nilgiris district has fetched a record price of Rs. 16,400 at an international tea auction.

An international auction has been conducted online from the Coonoor Tea Trade Association (CTTA) as part of the Tea Board’s celebration of International Tea Day (ITD), for factory-produced special tea powders. Among the tea powders, white tea called Silver Needle by Avataa from the Coonoor Billimalai Tea Estate was auctioned for a maximum of Rs 16,400 and it has set a record as the highest price in south India.

Reports state that the tea leaves need to be plucked before sunrise with occupied snow and only 5 kg of leaf tip green tea is available that covers an area of ​​about 10 acres. By continuously processing them to a certain temperature only 1kg of white tea called Silver Needle is obtained, a reason behind the specialty and high price of the tea.

A total of 4 kg silver needle white tea has gone up in the auction and the same has been reserved for exporters abroad.

Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu specializes in tea production and produces a wide variety of special tea powders such as Green Leaves, Orthodox Tea, Green tea, and Silver Needle tea. Not only do government and state-controlled tea factories operate but over 100 private tea factories run their business. An estimate of more than 60,000 farmers in the Nilgiris district are engaged in tea cultivation. The tea powder produced here is collected and taken to the Tea Auction Center in Coonoor for international auction.