DARJEELING

“Darjeeling “ is a small district in West Bengal lying in the lap of lower Himalayan region sharing its borders with Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal & China . Known for its lip-smacking momos, aesthetic alpine beauty and world renowned tea. One of the leading tea exporters from India and rich in culinary and cultural heritage. The name ‘’Darjeeling’’ came from the Tibetan word ”dorje” meaning thunderbolt and “ling’’ a place or land, hence 'the land of the thunderbolt'. King Edward VII took over the British empire. It was in the year 1835, Lord Bentinck deputed Capt. Herbert to examine the land along with J.W.Grant with special reference to its strategic and communication benefits. Negotiations with the Raja of Sikkim started for the transfer of Darjeeling and ended with its transfer under the ‘Deed of Grant’ on 1st February,1835; thus Darjeeling came into existence. In 1841 Archibald Campbell first planted tea in Darjeeling. At that time the British were looking for an alternative source to get tea other than China and found an alternative species growing in Assam. Campbell brought it to Darjeeling and due to its cool climate the production was huge. By 1856 there were Around 39 tea gardens including the very first Makaibari Tea Estate, founded in 1859 by Captain Salmer an agent of the Darjeeling Tea company. It is one of the oldest Tea estates owing to the history of Darjeeling. Salmer later sold the estate to Girish Chandra Banerjee and ever since it has been a family owned business continuing for Four generations. Today Makaibari produces one of the best known quality and top-grade Darjeeling tea and is exported worldwide. As a token of respect to this rich cultural heritage, we carefully combined the subtle tannin notes of Darjeeling autumn flush tea with an Indian London dry gin and paired it with our very own homemade jasmine cordial. A sip of which would make you reminisce about a cold evening with a cup of tea along with a ginger cookie.