You might have heard that there's been a military coup here in the Land of Smiles. Not much smiling going on about that, actually. Our neighborhood is far from any action (and to be honest there hasn't been nearly as much action as people were worried there would be ... yet), so we're safe and life is pretty normal. Aside from the vague worries about violence and the actual loss of civil liberties, the main downer is that we can't get out and explore much. You might say things are a little too quiet. I suppose that's better than things being a little too crazy.
On a positive note, it does give me time to update the blog on last year's adventures in India, so ...
... on to Munnar! Munnar is a not very beautiful little town located in a ridiculously beautiful setting. Before checking in to our homestay (right in the middle of a gorgeous tea plantation) we stopped at the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations tea museum.
The museum was packed with Indian tourists all excited to learn about their favorite drink and not very willing to stand in line or do anything else in any kind of order. As this is how things generally go in India, we gamely entered the fray and learned all about India's obsession.
First they make you sit through a documentary about the formation of the company, which is actually pretty interesting. The plantations were founded by a couple of British soldiers who saw that the area was perfect for growing tea. They and their descendants ran things until the Tata group (known in India for its monopolies in about everything) took over in the 1960s. Tata bowed out of plantations to focus on other things in the early 2000s, and the plantations became a co-op with all employees as shareholders.
A guide led us into the museum factory to tell us all about tea. I learned all kinds of things. I had no idea, for example, that black, green and white teas all come from the same plant. Tea leaves are harvested by hand because of the steep and curving slopes on which the plants grow and because the leaves are very fragile. Once harvested, the leaves are taken to the factory for processing.
We were packed into the tea leaf holding area (for lack of a better term), and the tour guide climbed up onto a little platform so the teeming masses could hear as he went through the growing and harvesting process. (Here's a good overview and here). This is where I learned that black, white and green teas are all from the same plant, but fermented for different lengths of time.
Next we filed onto the factory floor to watch the tea being processed. First the leaves are wilted, then fermented, then rolled, dried and cured.
This man's showing us a green tea and a black tea during processing.
The kids liked this vibrating machine that was separating cured tea into different consistencies.
One of the museum workers took us out back to see the ancient furnace that powers the museum factory. He said it's the factory's original power source.
And here's what they're using for fuel ...
Outside the museum you can see some of the plantation's old barracks and slope after slope of growing tea.
Not being tea-drinkers, we skipped all the free samples after our tour and drove through some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen to get to our homestay. Every curve in the road presented a new, gorgeous view. It was like driving through a fairy tale.
More to come.
On a positive note, it does give me time to update the blog on last year's adventures in India, so ...
... on to Munnar! Munnar is a not very beautiful little town located in a ridiculously beautiful setting. Before checking in to our homestay (right in the middle of a gorgeous tea plantation) we stopped at the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations tea museum.
The museum was packed with Indian tourists all excited to learn about their favorite drink and not very willing to stand in line or do anything else in any kind of order. As this is how things generally go in India, we gamely entered the fray and learned all about India's obsession.
First they make you sit through a documentary about the formation of the company, which is actually pretty interesting. The plantations were founded by a couple of British soldiers who saw that the area was perfect for growing tea. They and their descendants ran things until the Tata group (known in India for its monopolies in about everything) took over in the 1960s. Tata bowed out of plantations to focus on other things in the early 2000s, and the plantations became a co-op with all employees as shareholders.
A guide led us into the museum factory to tell us all about tea. I learned all kinds of things. I had no idea, for example, that black, green and white teas all come from the same plant. Tea leaves are harvested by hand because of the steep and curving slopes on which the plants grow and because the leaves are very fragile. Once harvested, the leaves are taken to the factory for processing.
We were packed into the tea leaf holding area (for lack of a better term), and the tour guide climbed up onto a little platform so the teeming masses could hear as he went through the growing and harvesting process. (Here's a good overview and here). This is where I learned that black, white and green teas are all from the same plant, but fermented for different lengths of time.
Next we filed onto the factory floor to watch the tea being processed. First the leaves are wilted, then fermented, then rolled, dried and cured.
This man's showing us a green tea and a black tea during processing.
The kids liked this vibrating machine that was separating cured tea into different consistencies.
One of the museum workers took us out back to see the ancient furnace that powers the museum factory. He said it's the factory's original power source.
And here's what they're using for fuel ...
Outside the museum you can see some of the plantation's old barracks and slope after slope of growing tea.
Not being tea-drinkers, we skipped all the free samples after our tour and drove through some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen to get to our homestay. Every curve in the road presented a new, gorgeous view. It was like driving through a fairy tale.
More to come.
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