Late in the afternoon, with the inspection tour done, the next order of business was to drink some tea. SMC was eager to have the Avongrove staff, and especially Mr. Subba, the manager, experience tea brewed in multiple short steeps.
We broke out the tiffin first in the bungalow's living room. By this date, Avongrove had some 2005 tea, so into the gaiwan it went. From my standpoint, and I think SMC's as well, the tasting went about the same as with the Rohini first manufacture: gorgeous tastes and aromas through half a dozen varied steeps. Mr. Subba, whose palate is respected within the company, was obviously concentrating intensely. He took notes on each steep and evaluated them on a few criteria. If I remember correctly, he thought the strength of taste only started to drop after the fourth steep, but the quality was excellent through the sixth. His demeanor is reserved, so I was excited to see his face relax with evident pleasure.
Having gained Mr. Subba's confidence, we repacked the tiffin and went up to the factory for some more tasting along with the assistant managers. At the factory, the staff got to taste some Chinese tea. The star of the session was a small-batch Tieguanyin from Silk Road Teas. It got a broad smile from Mr. Subba, who affirmed that it was doing good and distinct things through a series of steeps. One young assistant manager, though, expressed the opinion that Darjeeling tea was better. Oh well.
The next morning SMC was going to go one way, and my wife and I were going to go another, so that evening we disposed of a lot of what I'd brought to India. SMC got the tiffin kit and all or part of the various Chinese teas. One tea got special treatment: the Hong Kong back to China Puerh brick. That was to be split three ways: one third for SMC, one for Mr. Subba, and one for me. The assistant managers tried to trisect it at the factory, but their tools weren't up to the job. Later at the bungalow, a servant took it into Mrs. Subba's kitchen, and a couple of minutes later three neat pieces emerged.
/Lew