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Nilgiri tea is generally described as being a dark, intensely aromatic, fragrant and flavourful tea grown in the southern portion of the Western Ghats mountains of Southern India. It is grown in the hills of the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. though there are numerous other tea districts in South India as well, including Munnar and Central Travancore, further south in Kerala state.
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Nilgiri Tea Leaf |  |
Nilgiri Tea |
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Nilgiri Tea Leaf |  |
Nilgiri Tea |
The expensive hand-sorted, full-leaf versions of the tea like the Orange Pekoe (O.P.) are highly sought after at international auctions. More than 50% of Nilgiri tea is exported, and usually finds its way into blends used for tea bags. In November 2006 a Nilgiri Tea achieved "Top Honours" and fetched a world record price of $600 per kg. This was at the first ever tea auction held in Las Vegas A machine-sorted, lower-cost variety of high quality tea is a semi-full leaf variety known as Broken Orange Pekoe (B.O.P.). However, most production occurs via the Crush, Tear, Curl or CTC process of manufacture, which delivers a higher number of cups per measure (technically known as cuppage). The strong flavours of Nilgiri tea make it useful for blending purposes.