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You have heard and known about Cameron Highlands' Boh Plantation. Its tea products are easily available in supermarkets. But how about Bharat Cameron Valley Teas? You are forgiven if you are just a lowland blubber and all you know is Boh and Lipton tea as these are the most well known teas sold in retail. Of course there are others like Ahmad, Twinnings and Dilmah. As for Bharat tea, so far they are only sold exclusively in Cameron Highlands. They are not so much into retail but dealing mainly with the 100 or so tea blenders around the country.
Don't think Bharat Plantation production capacity is small; annually they produce about 5 million kg of tea in comparison with Boh whose production capacity is about 4 million kg of tea annually.
Bharat Plantation could be easily seen whether you are travelling via the Tapah route or Simpang Pulai way. Either way, the first tea plantation you will see first is Bharat as they are just located along side the main road of Cameron Highlands.
The highland is synonymous with tea production as the cool climate weather and generous rainfall is most suited for growing tea. And a visit to any of the tea plantation is certainly a delight because at the sight of a vast expanse of tea makes for a soothing spectacular view. The feeling of calmness seeing a green sea of tea amidst the rolling hills of the highlands and smelling the fresh air of the highlands makes one escape and forgets about the hectic hustle and bustle city life. C'mon let's dive right in and swim in the rolling wave of tea!
Bharat Company was established in 1933 from a humble 20ha plot of land and which much hard work, sweat and toil it has grown to its current size of 650ha. Though they supply mainly to tea blenders, they hope to establish their own brand directly to the consumer and they did just that in 1994. But so far, I have not seen any of their brands in the lowlands. I guess Kesave Kumar, the current owner of Cameron Bharat Plantations still need more work on their retail marketing strategy.
Bharat has two tea shops, The Shalimar Tea Shop is located on the trunk road between Ringlet and Tanah Rata and the other newer one is located between Trinkap and Kuala Terla to catch the tourist visitors using the easier newer road from Simpang Pulai. The tea shop was opened by Kesave Kumar's wife, and his sister-in-law and makes for a good quick cup of tea and to take a break from the long winding road journey. Amongst the two tea shop, the Shalimar Tea Shop though older is a favourite regular stopover for the tourist as it has very excellent view over the Bharat Shalimar estate. In addition the Bharat factory is nearby which you could go over for a tour.
I'd never failed to drop in to this tea shop just to enjoy the breathtaking view of Bharat plantation and grab myself a teh tarik break at the same time. The Shahlimar Tea Shop is very accessible as you don't have to negotiate tight narrow bends of plantation road especially when there is an oncoming traffic and one has to give way by looking for pockets of wider stretch of road just to pass through! My father never liked going to Boh's tea shop because he worried that the oncoming vehicle might scratch his car, and he gets really anxious when the oncoming vehicle is a bus!
Bharat's tea shop is simpler in comparison with Boh's tea shop and tea center, but nevertheless still makes a good stopover. Their new tea shop in Kuala Terla may not have such breathtaking view of their plantation however; it has an interesting rooftop terrace which you could take a break from your long ride from Simpang Pulai. In addition, they have added some audiovisual presentation for you to learn a thing or about how a good cup of tea is made.
And lastly not to forget, they have retail tea shop located in Tanah Rata's main street selling their brand of tea. This is also where their Bharat Group Head Office is located too. The tea shop in Tanah Rata does not serve any drinks however they do sell their tea products. So why not buy a few boxes of Bharat Tea to take home or present to your friends while you are visiting? Cheers!
Jan.
(19/May/2007)
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