The Darjeeling tea story started way back in 1835 through the initiative of the British Governor General, Lord Bentinck. Dr. Campbell, the first Superintendent of Darjeeling, planted the first seeds in his garden at Beechwiood, 2134 mtrs. above sea level.

Following in his footsteps, missionaries like Mr. Stolke, Capt. Masson and the Barnes Brothers all started small and medium-sized plantations during the mid - 1800s. Mr. Stolke started planting Steinthal in 1847. The Barnes Brothers acquired a large area and planted tea at Mineral Springs, Bannockburb and Soom.

By 1864 the Darjeeling Company was established with four gardens, while the Darjeeling Consolidated Tea Co. dated back to 1896. Other stalwarts included Capt. Samlar, Dr. Brougham, Dr. Grant, Mr. James White, Mr. Bhagatbir Rai and Mr. Bipra Das Pal Chaudhuri.

Without the adventurous efforts of the pioneer planters, the tea industry of Darjeeling would not have seen the light of day.

The pioneers in the history of Darjeeling Tea cultivation had little or no experience to fall back on and hence had to depend on trial and error methods. The first tea seeds used for plantation were of Chinese origin brought in from the Kumaon hills of north India. The plant was allowed to grow naturally, upto 2.5 mtrs. in height and took 4 to 5 years to develop. More seeds were then harvested in a similar manner. The plants were hardy and multi-stemmed, producing small sized leaves.

The tea gardens of the Darjeeling district, many with ethnic names reminiscent of a romantic past, are grouped in seven valleys of the Darjeeling Hills, each gifted with its own scenic character and topography.

The valley groups were originally segregated when gardens were accessible only on horseback, based on geographical proximity. Each valley had its own club, where the memsahibs could exchange recipes and update themselves weekly on the non-tea activities of handsome young assistants, while the sahibs enjoyed a game of tennis, followed by high spirits, dancing and dinner.

Intense inter and intra valley rivalry gas historically engendered a spirit of friendly competition among the garden managers, filtering down to the workers. This is the human face of the driving force responsible for making the best tea even better, year after year.