A toast to tea

Cognac, Champagne or Darjeeling isn’t merely a catchy ad line, but a statement of fact that the Indian tea produced in the salubrious environs of this land is now recognised by its Geographical Indication (GI). Recently, the Indian Tea Board celebrated its victory over countries like France and UK in protecting Dr Campbell’s discovery of the brew in 1839.

Assam may be called the ‘tea bowl’ state of India, since it accounts for nearly 55 per cent of the country’s total annual tea production of 955 million kgs last year. However, it is Darjeeling which produces 11.5 million kgs of the golden brew from its nearly 17,400 hectares of well cultivated 85 tea gardens, which is mostly exported to European countries and the US.

This brand of brew was first discovered by the good doctor, a civil surgeon, who had been assigned the task of finding a good hill station for the ‘sahibs’, by the East India Company. He spotted Darjeeling, one of the highest hill stations in the world, standing at 2000 ft above sea-level, as the most suitable place for a peaceful sojourn. He brought China tea seeds from Kumeon and planted them in his garden at Beechwood. He attracted the local settlers and the Britishers put out tea nurseries in the entire land. Darjeeling tea became a household name over the years.

Bit it became unbearable for Indian tea masters to allow a French national Jean-Luc Dusong using the name Darjeeling, with a device of a teapot on the various non-tea products marketed by him. He was using Darjeeling’s name to sell various goods and services, including artwork, engravings, books, journals, communication material and for consultancy.

The Tea Board had lost the first round of its battle with the Court of the First Instance in Paris (akin to a trial court here), but India tasted success when the Court of Appeals in Paris (which may be equivalent to a High Court) which upheld their claim that the use of the word Darjeeling with the teapot logo, and its registration was a violation of the rights represented by the Tea Board in respect of GI Darjeeling for tea.

A GI indication is a name or sign used on goods to indicate and certify that these originate from a specific geographical region and possess certain characteristics or reputation which is essentially attributable to the said geographical origin. Being a collective right, a GI belongs to all the stakeholders in the product concerned and is, thus, distinguishable from a trademark, which is a private monopoly right vested in a proprietor to distinguish his goods from those of others.

Back home, the Supreme Court had the occasion to resolve the dispute over status of tea. Is it a foodstuff or not? It’s not, said the court while basing their own judgment with the concoction made by lawmakers or lexicographers. But judges said tea couldn’t be identified with ‘pan masala’ or ‘gutka’, whether laced with tobacco or herbs.

In medical and legal parlance, tea is known by a very complicated name. India Tea Act says ‘tea’ means the plant Camellia Sinensis (L) O Kuntze as well as all varieties of the product known commercially as tea made from these leaves including green tea.