Hathikuli Estate takes its name from the Assamese for 'frequent elephant,' a fitting label for land bordering Kaziranga National Park, where elephants pass through often enough that the name stuck. The estate falls across the Golaghat and Karbi-Anglong districts of Assam, at a modest 237 feet above sea level, and grows organic green tea, orthodox tea and CTC alongside this orthodox black leaf, graded Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe.
The estate has old ties to English tea families too. Back in the 1950s, one family used to travel out by elephant to visit Hathikuli's manager, a neighbour and friend from a nearby estate, and the daughter of that family later recalled watching tigers and rhinos from the bungalow veranda, animals that wandered over from Kaziranga next door.
Because the estate sits so close to that World Heritage Site, its managers chose to convert to organic growing in 2007; the changeover took until 2011 to complete. Since then, natural predators that keep pest populations down have moved in, and the soil itself has changed, with more earthworms and a richer structure than neighbouring estates growing tea conventionally.
In the cup this Assam pours a light copper liquor with aromas of sweet honey. The taste runs malty and smooth, with orange and earthy notes underneath and a gentle astringency on the finish.
Steep it in freshly boiled water for three to five minutes. It's traditionally taken with milk, though it's worth trying black at least once to taste the tea in full. Tea & Coffee, who source this batch, pack it to order in card-and-foil packaging meant to hold onto freshness, in sizes from 50g up to a kilo. Keep the leaf in an airtight container, away from strong smells and direct sunlight, and it will hold its character well.
