Correspondent
OYAN, 23 Nov: The Donyi-Polo Tea Estate (DPTE) here in East Siang district organized its annual ‘Siang Autumnal Tea Festival’ at its skill training centre here on Tuesday.
Tea taster from Assam’s Guwahati, Parag Hatibaruah tested the quality of more than 35 brands made by the DPTE and other tea farmers of the state, in the presence of tea planters, researchers, small growers and tea experts. He recommended some white and green teas for export through the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre.
Samples of various specialty teas, like green tea, white tea, orthodox tea, purple tea, oolong tea, golden tea, baimudang tea and other brands made by the Mouling Tea Estate (Upper Siang) were on display for testing.
A team of small tea growers, including SHG members from Mirem village, led by Kanna Dupak, also joined the festival and displayed their tea products.
They said that the tea festival gives them a platform to display their tea products and obtain practical knowledge about production of quality tea and garden management.
The tea festival is organized in autumn every year, when the pruning and maintenance of tea plants in the gardens begin. “It is organized to encourage the small tea growers to produce specialty tea of different tastes and qualities for export,” said DPTE assistant manager Kaling Moyong.
Siang Tea Industries Ltd’s managing director Omak Apang, DPTE tea master Monuj Kumar, manager Takur Darang, Agriculture Deputy Director (SAMETI) Meghnath Bori, tea planter Rajen Baruah from Assam’s Dibrugarh district, and a group of tour operators from Arunachal and various other states, led by Christina Panggam (Oyan), attended the programme.
