Lopchu Tea Estate is a

tea garden A tea garden is an outdoor space where tea and light refreshments are served, or any garden with which the drinking of tea is associated. Especially in India, it is also a common term for a tea plantation. The tea garden was a part of early Eng ...

in the

Rangli Rangliot Rangli Rangliot is a village in the Rangli Rangliot CD block in the Darjeeling Sadar subdivision of the Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Rangli Rangliot is located at . Ar ...

CD block in the

Darjeeling Sadar subdivision Darjeeling Sadar subdivision is a subdivision of the Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India. Subdivisions Darjeeling district is divided into the following administrative subdivisions: Police stations Police stations i ...

of the Darjeeling district in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

Etymology

"Lopchu" is a derivative from

Lepcha language Lepcha language, or Róng language ( Lepcha: ; ''Róng ríng''), is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Lepcha people in Sikkim, India and parts of West Bengal, Nepal, and Bhutan. Despite spirited attempts to preserve the language, Lepcha ...

, which prevailed in the area when the garden was set up.

History

Lopchu Tea Estate was owned by British planters, possibly the Brown family, in its earlier days. The garden was established in the early 1860s. In 1954, Lopchu Tea Estate was purchased by S.N.Kanoria and G.L.Kanoria, two cousins and both jute traders. Now, their grandsons, Rajesh Kanoria and Sandeep Kanoria, own the garden.

Geography

Lopchu Tea Estate is located north-east of

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

, mid-way between Darjeeling and

Kalimpong Kalimpong is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The region comes under Gorkhaland Territo ...

, and close to

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

. The nearest

Darjeeling tea Darjeeling tea is a tea made from ''Camellia sinensis var. sinensis'' that is grown and processed in Darjeeling district or Kalimpong district in West Bengal, India. Since 2004, the term ''Darjeeling tea'' has been a registered geographical in ...

estate is Glenburn Tea Estate, separated by a hill.

Takdah Takdah Cantonment is a neighbourhood in the Rangli Rangliot CD block in the Darjeeling Sadar subdivision of the Darjeeling district, West Bengal, India. It is one of the upcoming tourist centres of the Darjeeling hills. Takdah literary means " ...

is also close-by. Located at a height of nestles in a glen overlooking the majestic

Kangchenjunga Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak River and Jongsang La, and ...

peak. Lopchu has under tea cultivation. Most of tea plants were transplanted from Yunan province in China, and much of the tea gets exported to Germany and other European countries. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

Lopchu tea

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. Owned by The Times Group, ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961 and it is sold in all major cities in India. As of 2012, it is the world's secon ...

says that Lopchu, a 90-year old tea brand, "has won a dedicated, global following after enduring tough competition." Many of the leading Indian tea connoisseurs love its aroma and smoky taste.

References

External links

* {{Darjeeling District Tea estates in Darjeeling district