A tea bush lives 80–100 years. How you tend it in the first ten shapes the next ninety.
Every December, once the winter dormancy sets in, our master gardeners prune the bushes down to the frame — a technique known as 'skiff pruning' that keeps the plucking table at plucking height and the leaf young.
Between the tea rows we plant nitrogen-fixing shade trees — Albizia and Grevillea — which enrich the soil, break the wind, and provide the dappled shade tea loves.
All garden waste, kitchen scraps, and plucking residue is composted into rich humus returned to the soil. We use zero synthetic fertiliser on the estate.
Rain-fed irrigation with contour trenches captures every monsoon drop. In the dry season, drip irrigation from harvested rainwater keeps the bushes flushing.