Peermade tea plantations, Kerala’s first commercial tea estate, mark 150 years

150 years of tea plantation history in Peermade, Kerala, marked by innovation, challenges, and sustainability for the future.

The tea plantation industry in the Peermade hills of Idukki in Kerala has reached a historic milestone, marking 150 years since its first recorded commercial cultivation in 1875. Interestingly, it was the first establishment of a commercial tea plantation in Kerala.

The book Above Heron’s Pool by Heather Lovatt and Peter de Jong traces the origins of tea planting in Peermade, noting that the first recorded cultivation took place on Penshurst Estate, where F.M. Parker opened 25 acres for tea in 1875. It further mentions that by 1882, parts of Fairfield Estate were also planted with tea. Initially, the clearings were cultivated with China Hybrid tea plants.

Penshurst Estate, named after a historic village in England, remains operational even after 150 years. Now managed by Malankara Plantations, the estate continues to thrive on the Elappara-Wagamon route in Idukki.

According to J.K. Thomas, managing director of Malankara Plantations, a portion of the original China Hybrid tea plants, planted by F.M. Parker has been preserved within the estate. “While most areas have been replanted, we have maintained a section of the original tea plants to study their longevity and productivity over the years. It also serves as a historic marker,” he said.

During the 2023-24 financial year, Penshurst Estate was ranked first in South India for tea productivity per hectare, yielding 4,735 kg per hectare.

The historical records, meanwhile, also add another layer to Peermade’s tea legacy. The Travancore State Manual, published in 1906, mentions that tea, coffee, and cinchona were experimented with as early as 1864 in the Government Garden at Peermade. The United Planters’ Association of Southern India (UPASI), in its centennial publication (1853-1953), too has acknowledged the early developments of tea plantations in the region.

Peermade’s journey with plantation crops began with coffee when J.D. Munro established the first coffee estate on Hope Estate in 1862. However, by 1875, a leaf disease devastated coffee crops, much like what happened in then Ceylon (Sri Lanka), forcing plantation owners to switch from coffee to tea – a move that laid the foundation for Kerala’s thriving tea industry today.