First word from Darjeeling

This is the time of the year that we put our ears to the tracks to hear what is happening in our favorite places: China and India. Here is our first report from Darjeeling:

After the useful showers in January, February has turned out to be dry and as a result the bushes, along with the producers are looking skywards.

The bushes are ready to sprout those leaves, but the lack of rain is holding them back!

With the January rains we had expected that we would see the first of the true First Flush Invoices by this week, but now it seems, we may have to wait another 7 – 10 days. Therefore, whilst First Flush is not going to be early, as we had thought it might be, what is causing a certain amount of concern is that if there is no rain by around the 15^th, there could be a setback in terms of the quantum of good 1^st Flush that may be available. The weather has been surprisingly good, with “coolish” temperatures which has resulted in no build up of moisture and therefore the lack of rain.

Rains coming after 20^th could result in heavy rains a for a couple of days and this could be detrimental to quality as there could be a rush of crop.

A couple of early invoices from lower elevations are likely to reach Kolkata end of this week.