Anamallais Tea Division

The tea division of Tata Coffee Limited is located on the Valparai Plateau in the hills of Anamallais — which literally means elephant hill in the local language. The Valparai Plateau is surrounded by four protected areas — Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Eravikulam National Park and Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary — and contains large areas of tea, coffee and cardamom estates that occupies an area of approximately 220 sq. km.

The tea estates are scattered around the town of Valparai and lie at elevations varying from 900 meters to 1600 meters above sea level.

Temperatures in the Anamallais rarely rise above 32° - 34° C or drop below 5° - 6°C and the annual rainfall ranges from 90 to 190 inches, with four-fifths of the annual precipitation occurring during the months of June-September. The period from December to March is generally dry and sunny with warm days and pleasant nights.

With these idyllic climatic conditions, the teas from the Anamallais are generally known to have a medium to high tone fragrance with a lingering biscuity to floral note. Aroma is biscuity; golden saffron liquors: brisk and fairly bright while being strong, vibrant, complex and intense.

As part of Tata Coffee's Corporate Social Responsibility the division runs a school for children with special needs called DARE and has recently started a Nursery and Primary English medium school for the children of its employees and the local population called Aksharya Vidya Ashram.

The Divison partners Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) in the conservation of rainforest fragments and restoration of degraded sites on its Valaparai and Velonie Estates as also in developing an animal corridor through its Pachaimallai Estate.

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Malakiparai Estate

Located in the western end of the tea planting district of Anamallais, Malakiparai Estate is the only estate in this area that has the unique distinction of being in Kerala, while all other estates across various tea companies lie in Tamil Nadu.

There are two versions as to how the estate derived its name. One version means 'King Rock', as 'Malik' means king and 'Para' means rock and the other version means 'Rolling Rock' as 'Malakam' means rolling. This seems to be more likely as the estate is strewn with numerous rocks.

This estate was established in 1915 under the management of a sterling company called The Amalgamated Tea Estate Company Limited, incorporated in the UK, with the first tea being planted in the year 1916 in Lower Division. The estate has four divisions with a total area of 529.76 hectares and 58.86 hectares under eucalyptus.

At an elevation on 3090 feet, the estate is considered the flagship of the company and is the highest yielding estate in the company having touched an all time high of 4141 kg per hectare in 1997 - 1998. The estate, in fact, has a large, high yielding, clonal area of 157.73 hectares planted between 1988 and 1998 which comprises of some of the highest yielding clones in South India. An area of 153.61 hectares is covered by sprinkler irrigation.

The estate is skirted by thick lush jungle, rich and diverse in its flora and fauna. Myladumparai Division is probably one of the most scenic tea areas in the company and the famous Number Parai (Number rock) is located in this division. This rock bears the survey markings of the erstwhile Cochin and Travancore States and has a breathtaking view, with a sheer drop of well over 1000 feet, of the Edamalayar reservoir and jungles below, which is home to a number of tribal settlements.

Malakiparai Premium RC CTC teas are renowned in the Kerala market, with a good demand throughout the year.

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Pachaimallai Estate

Pachaimallai, derived from the Tamil words "Pachai'' meaning green and "Mallai'' meaning hill, was planted in 1917 in the Anamallais.

The estate is located about 4km from Valparai town against a picturesque backdrop of the Grass Hills, a National Park that continues into the Eravikulam National Park in Munnar. The estate is at an elevation of 3726 feet above mean sea level and witnesses an annual precipitation of about 100 inches.

The estate comprises of 301.07 hectares of tea, 74.56 hectares of eucalyptus and 2.54 hectares of coffee and has achieved a record yield of 3623 kilogram per hectare in the year 1997 - 98 with a clonal area of just 2 per cent.

The factory is nestled conveniently in the centre of the estate, which is like a bowl, and remains the only Orthodox tea factory of the company in the Anamallias.

Pachaimallai teas have a good demand for the export markets, especially in the CIS countries and the Gulf.

As the estate borders a coffee estate and a tract of 'shola' (rainforest), the area is alive with bountiful wildlife. Elephants, bison, sambar, barking deer, bears, Indian wild dog and the elusive leopard frequent the estate. The giant Indian hornbill and lion-tailed macaque are also visible in the adjoining forest.

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Pannimade Estate

This estate is set on the south western edge of Anamallais, in the shadows of the Anaimudi peak and shares its borders with High Forest Estate and the BBTC Estates on the east and Malakiparai Estate on the south and west. The waters of the Sholayar dam wash the northern borders of the estate.

The word 'Pannimade' comes from the Tamil word 'Panni' which means mist and 'Made' which means mountain. True to its name, this estate is often shrouded in mist. The estate is traditionally known to get the highest rainfall in the Anamallais.

Pannimade Estate was originally two estates — Kadalaparai and Pannimade — that were amalgamated at the time of the construction of the Sholayar dam. The tea area of this estate spans 431.03 hectares. Besides tea, the estate also has 32.63 hectares of coffee and 98.21 hectares of fuel area. The estate's tea area comprises mainly seedling tea planting which started as early as 1917. In 1997 - 98, the estate achieved an all time record crop of 3444 kg per hectare.

The Pannimade Estate Factory, once the erstwhile Kadalaparai factory, is a CTC factory that was modernised in the year 2000 and re-modernised in 2007. This factory can manufacture upto 36,000 kg of green leaf per day and has a reputation for traditionally producing some of the best CTC teas.

The estate also has 13.93 hectares of pristine forest, which is separated from the estate by the waters of the Sholayar dam. A visit to the Candura Jungles by road involves a drive of over 20 km though a boat ride on the new estate boat, 'The Candura Queen 2' is a more delightful way to visit these areas.

Various animals and birds are the denizens of a number of shola pockets that pepper the estate. The estate is often visited by elephants, which can peacefully and without interference by the residents, pass through, though there are some rogue elephants who have ransacked the estate musters to find rice.

Besides elephants, other animals such as the bisons, panthers, barking deer, Malabar squirrels, mouse deer etc. are all seen on the estate. Birds such as the hornbill have also found a home in the coffee areas of this estate.

The presence of these animals on the estate roads, along with the misty conditions that prevail here, have led to some interesting albeit some hair-raising encounters especially at night. The estate managers bungalow is located on an elephant path and is often visited by these benevolent beasts.

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Uralikal Estate

Uralikal Estate is located in the western section of the Anamallai planting district and is at an elevation of 3746 feet above mean sea level. It is centrally located among the Tata Coffee Estate in the Anamallais and the uniqueness is that a major part of the estate runs along a stretch of 10 kilometres of main road from Valparai to Sholayar Dam.

Along the eastern border of Uralikal upto the south is the Sholayar dam. In fact there is an underground water tunnel, which runs through Uralikal and feeds the water from Sholayar dam to Manamboli Power generation project.

The name Uralikal comes from the combination of the Tamil word 'Urala' which means round and 'Kal' which means stone. This may have come from the presence of large round stones in the estate.

The tea planting started in the year 1915. The estate has a planted tea area of 429.65 hectares and fuel area of 130.53 hectares. The estate has achieved a record yield of 3589 kilograms per hectare in the year 1999 - 2000.

Uralikal produces Premium RC CTC teas and is sold through various auction centres such as Cochin, Coimbatore and Connoor.

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Velonie Estate

The tea industry found its way into the Anamallais plateau through a bridle path cutting its way through thick jungles in the Velonie Valley, way back in December 1896. The estate that developed in this valley in 1912 by a pioneering planter named C Howland was initially called 'Karakundru', meaning 'black hill', which was later named 'Velonie'. In 1965, two divisions of the neighbouring estate namely 'Selaliparai' was merged with Velonie as most of the estate was submerged under the Sholayar dam, which is claimed to be highest rubble construction dam in the country.

The elevation of the factory is 2900 feet above mean sea level. The estate comprises 410.89 hectares of tea and 110.17 hectares of eucalyptus. The record yield of the estate is 3650 kilograms per hectare, achieved in 1991 - 92.

The estate is fortunate to have 76.62 hectares (19 per cent ) of clonal tea and has an entire division of clonal tea, namely east division, which boasts of being one of the highest yielding division's of the company.

Wildlife is aplenty as the estate borders the Valparai Coffee estate. Elephants, bison, bears, Indian wild dogs and the evasive panther frequent the estate. One can even spot the giant Indian hornbill and lion-tailed macaque in the adjoining forestry.

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