TRA, Japan to study Darjeeling tea flavour

Guwahati, July 1: The Tocklai Experimental Station (TES) under Tea Research Association of India (TRA) has embarked on a collaborative research programme with Japanese experts to study the chemistry that imparts the world famous flavour in Darjeeling tea.

TES sources said here today that the scientists in the research station have undertaken a study on molecular mechanism of Darjeeling tea under a Indo-Japanese project, aimed at improving the overall quality of the Indian tea.

Three scientists from Japan's Kyoto University were in the TES recently to work on the project jointly with TRA scientists. An agreement between the TES and Kyoto University had been signed few months back.

Japanese scientists have expertise on molecular mechanism of 'Oriental Beauty', a popular variety of Taiwanese Oolong Tea.

The collaborative project is basically evolved around blending Japanese expertise on Taiwanese tea and TES expertise on Darjeeling tea to improve the quality of the tea produced in the country.

Japan Science Promotion Society has sponsored the project while the Tea Board of India would sponsor the TES participation in the project, which has two phases.

The second phase would facilitate study for improving flavour of CTC variety of tea.

The TES possesses analytical data on Darjeeling tea and it aims to find out the instinctive mechanism behind the Darjeeling tea flavour.

A school of tea scientists believe that there were certain pests, whose infestation lead to development of the flavour in Darjeeling tea.

UNI