Nilgiri

The Nilgiri hills (literally 'blue mountains' from the Kurinji flowers that bloom blue every twelve years) host approximately 62,000 hectares of tea gardens, making it India's second-largest tea region after Assam. Unlike the seasonal Darjeeling or Assam, Nilgiri's equatorial location allows year-round production, with the frost-period harvest (December-February) yielding the most prized, aromatic lots. Nilgiri tea is characteristically brisk and fragrant with a bright, coppery liquor, medium body, and a clean finish. These qualities make it an excellent blending tea — it adds brightness and fragrance to blends without dominating. Nilgiri's cooperative structure, centered around the INDCO tea factories, means that many small growers contribute to the regional output. The region also produces distinctive specialty teas including white tea, oolong, and green tea, often from the frost-period plucking.