Thanks Alexander for your comments, really appreciate after being totally being stumped out due to server problems. Hope this works out fine. Thought I would make this a post instead of answering you on the comments box. One more post is added to my blog’s list haha! Well, yes, long time ago I used to visit, forums, discussion groups etc. but I have somewhat moved away these days - simply for the reason - I couldn’t update it or answer them timely. I used to visit a lot of such areas such as google groups etc. but time just didn’t permit me to answer queries which require thinking as well as simply ‘time’. I got too much engrossed in my company works and other nitty-gritty settlements.

Anyways, here on this blog, I try to explain in the simplest of simplest form I can, keeping in mind the very “tea beginners”. Don’t want to hit them with the book of the ancient Greeks or Sanskrit.

Well coming to Arya Ruby, I am sorry for I cannot be of much help to you, if you want detailed info on the Ruby processing. Let me be sincere here, Arya Ruby is a special tea and the making of this tea highly depends on the tea maker. Its his secret which he will not let it for any cost - for the simple reason - there will be too many Ruby’s cropping up from various other tea gardens. Yes, I did try to dig up the question once with Mr. Roy, the manager, and he simply answered - “Benoy, thats my secret”. I guess he is right in his own way, but for tea lovers like us, we can just analyze the processed product. Its not that I am blind to Ruby’s making, I have some info though - 4 factors highly affect the quality of any particular Darjeeling tea a) weather, b)altitude a tea garden is placed, c) Kind of leaf or tea bush used and d) last the most important is the Tea maker (his processing timings).

Arya as a garden is among the highest altitude tea gardens, higher the altitude better the tea, but also not so high where you have snow : ) Weather conditions are also important - mist, rain, temperature and sun - this is a trademark of Darjeeling’s weather. There is one saying the locals quite often refer - Don’t trust the “3 WWW” of Darjeeling - “Women, Weather and Wine”. : ) Arya Ruby uses special clone bushes which was spread using vegetation process. Its a special type of clone called ‘AV-2′. Yes, the wither seems light and the rolling too in order to save the tenderness of the leaves. Fermentation is the most important factor with Ruby, only the tea maker can make the decision by the right ‘nose’ acquirement. Drying is normal and the firing is full. It is manually cleaned. Regarding the timings which are the most vital, only the tea maker can tell you. Oh have I let the secret out? Don’t tell anyone. : )

Now regarding the white teas, I was referring to and comparing to other white teas indigenous to Darjeeling only, because I am aware of other tea garden white teas here. And not to forget the different characteristics of each tea estate (which are unique in itself and that is why Darjeeling tea is famous, each tea is different) and grade tea. No tea will be the same, could be somewhat similar in characteristics, otherwise we would find Darjeeling teas growing in Japan or someplace else.

Hope this helps a bit! I am a learner in process, will never become a tea master, coz to become one is attaining infinity. Yes, can become an expert one day, but the tag “Tea Master” is quite a ‘dwindling thought’ at the moment.

Now it took sometime to answer this, imagine posting such answers or queries in a number of discussion forums or groups. “No can do!” : ) I will be pooped out!