| Country of Origin | India | | Region: | Darjeeling | | Shipping Port | Calcutta | | Grade | BPS - Broken Pekoe Souchong (Gunpowder grade) | | Altitude | Mean elevation is 5300 feet above sea level | | Manufacture Type | Orthodox | | Cup Characteristics | Muscatel character with excellent fullness and body in the cup. | | Infusion | Tending coppery with greenish highlights | Very few Darjeeling estates have the ability to produce exotic grades of tea. Soom has brand new equipment and is able to adjust finished leaf style very easily. Soom only produces tea from March through the end of October/early November. The best time for Darjeeling quality is from March through mid July (this Soom is from End of June production). Tea produced during this time have lovely and intriguing muscatel flavor. The flavor is a result of rarefied mountain air, bright sunshine, cool temperatures, excellent soil and the Chinese genus of the Camellia Sinensis bush. The plucking fields of Soom are about 5200 feet above sea level and the terrain is very severe with some of the slopes approaching 45 degrees. The slopes are so steep that the estate still carries the green leaf to the factory by mountain pony. Many of the bushes are over 130 years old but produce remarkable tea. Soom is highly regarded for quality and it is not uncommon for its produce to be air freighted to world buyers. There are several theories about the origin of the name of the estate. Soom in Lepcha Language (local dialect) means Three or Triangular. Interestingly the estate is bounded by three streams and is somewhat triangular in shape. Another school of thought is Soom also means holy abode and as Soom has a holy deity who is worshipped, it is possible the name originated from here. The factory burned to the ground in 1995 and was out of production for 1 1/2 years. The new factory has all modern equipment, which now produces some of Darjeeling s best teas. Top tea estates perform a social function and Soom is exemplary in this regard. The estate not only employs 700 people, but provides housing, food and medical needs for the families resulting in about 2000 people living on the estate in full view of the Himalayan Mountains |
