ABOUT
US
Doddabetta Tea Factory is among the highest-elevation tea factories of the Nilgiris, established 15 years ago, with a view to produce and promote purely authentic Nilgiri teas!
The need for a 'pure blend' of Nilgiri tea has been long-felt, after it was lost to an entire generation, when in the late 1900s, pure blends of Nilgiri teas gave way to 'mixes' and 'matches' with other high grown produce in the region, including Sri Lanka and Assam tea... In fact, in 1858, after the early experiments with tea by the East India Company, Nilgiri tea, dried and hand rolled, was pronounced as 'excellent' in the London auctions!
Our history of tea manufacturing goes back a generation, when 'the innovator', Shri N K Krishnamoorthy (who was among the early Agricultural Sciences graduates from the Nilgiris), chose to step into manufacture of tea - a giant step beyond his father's initiatives, whose large holdings of tea gardens in verdant tea growing areas in the district, including Kagguchi, Ketti Palada and Aravenu, provided the impetus for quality tea procurement for the factories.
Today, the group has three prominent factories, in what may be termed as multi-elevation locations - Nankemp Tea Industry near Kattabettu, Kookalhatty Tea Industry near Ketti and Doddabetta Tea Factory near the second-highest peak in South India.
Rest assured, our multi-elevation pure Nilgiri blend HOMEWOOD teas will leave a rare and refreshing taste with each cup of tea. Do try our high-grown, hand rolled white tea, which has come in for exclusive reviews, with tea connoisseurs and consumers, alike!
THE
INNOVATORS
Shri N K Krishnamoorthy is considered an innovator in the tea industry, with particular contribution to the South Indian teas' story, with his far-reaching contributions as Member of the Tea Board of India.
His push for 50% subsidy for tea factories to modernise their equipment is one such effort, which has led to widespread improvement in the quality of tea in the Nilgiris.
Innovation was equally inherited in the next gen as well, with Mr Krishnamoorthy's older son, Diwakar coming up with a unique idea of the launch of a tea museum alongside the tea factory in Doddabetta, Ooty, which is a one-of-its-kind, tourist-friendly initiative in India. Diwakar, with his Mechanical Engineering background, during his tenure as Projects Officer - tea factories, at the United Planter's Association of South India (UPASI), understood the need of tourists and visitors to get a firsthand feel of a tea factory experience and set about identifying land (at high elevation Doddabetta) and setting up a modern factory alongside a tea museum. The Tea Museum carries the history of tea, from the 'early Chinese beginnings' to when tea arrived in Europe, Asia, India and to the Nilgiris, complete with pictorial effect!
The high-point of this must-visit attraction in Ooty is the tea manufacturing experience that visitors are extended, with a first hand feel of how it is all done - from the leaf to the cup!
Other members of the next generation in the family are equally and actively engaged in the pursuit of pure and '100% Naturally Nilgiris' teas, with Karthi and Dhananjayan, ably reinforcing the group's initiatives and ideals.
