About this episode
The episode explores the Lakyrsiew tea garden in Meghalaya, discussing its unique qualities and the impact of climate on tea production.
Today we're continuing with our periodic series of shorter episodes focusing on one tea, one producer or one region that may be new to the tea stage or that we're excited about and want to explore further. We're joined by our frequent guest Kevin Gascoyne, co-owner of Montreal's Camellia Sinensis Tea House and one of the world's leading experts on Indian tea, to explore Lakyrsiew, a young boutique tea garden in India's very wet Meghalaya state. Kevin chats with us about the history of tea growing in the Meghalaya region, from its origins in the mid-19th century to its revival in the early 21st century. Meghalaya is situated just south of Assam and has some of the highest rainfalls in the world. We discuss the effects of the climate, soil and altitude of Lakyrsiew on the Darjeeling plants being grown there and the cultivars finding success in this terroir. Kevin gives us some tips on comparing the Lakyrsiew autumnal flush with other teas, particularly Darjeelings, to see how the same cultivars can exhibit different qualities when grown in different terroirs. And we look at the recent development of the Lakyrsiew garden and its efforts to find what Kevin calls the "magic" to…
People in this episode
Host: Ken Cohen
Guest: Kevin Gascoyne
Topics covered
- tea
- Meghalaya
- Indian tea
- tea production
- climate effects
- tea tasting
Keywords
- Lakyrsiew
- tea garden
- Meghalaya
- Darjeeling
- tea cultivation
- Kevin Gascoyne
- Camellia Sinensis
- Himalayan tea
- autumnal flush
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Camellia Sinensis Tea House
Places: India, Meghalaya, Assam
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