Darjeeling

Darjeeling is the Champagne of tea — the most prestigious and GI-protected single-origin tea in the world. Its three annual flushes produce tea of radically different character: the first flush (March–April) is pale, delicate, and floral; the second flush (May–June) produces the legendary muscatel — a grape-like, complex character unique on earth and triggered by specific environmental conditions. The district's 87 registered tea estates span the Himalayan foothills, each with distinct microclimate. Makaibari, established 1859, is the world's oldest tea estate. The GI protection, awarded in 2004, was India's first agricultural GI.