Dean,
as said before the pros get more and more nervous these days. We had some exceptionally beautiful weather this winter with no rain at all (except 5 or 6 drops in early Jan. and last week). It's pretty hard to tell how it all turns out. One thing I shouldn't forget to mention (thanks Michael): around end of February the real harvest WILL start, probably first in some more of those irrigated fields, that means small amounts > high prices. Those teas can be nice, but you'll have to pay $$ to get some of those first leaves. So if you're not too desparate, be patient and just wait for the rain (an update on rfdt). As soon as some real rain makes it up here from the bay of Bengal, both harvested quantity and quality will rise and prices will fall. As a rule of thumb, you can expect some nice quality if the tea gets plucked around 14 days after some real rain made it up here. As I have to fly back on the 19th of March I'll be pretty busy around early/mid March in pursuit of my tea dreams (among other things, sampling some 100 teas, some of them very special - wish me luck). I'll however try my best to keep you updated (short reviews and so on).
Greetings from the hills, Karsten