Quality
At the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company (P) Limited, quality consciousness is a way of life and we strive on perfection and excellence; the proof of this lies in the numerous awards bagged by Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company (P) Limited in the prestigious annual Golden Leaf India Awards, Southern Tea competitions since its inception. From “Leaf to Lip", all our operations follow scientifically established standards, and documented operating procedures, which in turn gives our customers the assurance of a safe and quality product. A stringent, two- tier quality control system ensures that every invoice of tea produced in each of the 16 factories is meticulously tasted and scrutinized against industry benchmarks. Teas conforming to these standards are further checked by the central Q C Department before reaching the customer.
Quality Parameters
The major quality parameters that are tested in made tea include Theaflavins (TF), Thearubigins (TR), High polymerized substances (HPS), Total liquor color (TLC) and Total soluble solids (Water extract). TF has a direct correlation with quality and price realization. TF contribute towards the briskness and brightness of tea liquor. During the course of fermentation, TF progressively increases till an optimum fermentation time, the period at which maximum quality is observed. In addition to having maximum value for TF, there has to be proper balancing of the liquor parameters for which the guide line stating the value of TR to be ten to twelve times as that of TF can be followed. TR are complex condensation products of oxidized catechins with TF. Together with HPS, TR increases the color, mouth feel and body of the tea liquor. Very high levels of TR indicate over fermentation. Similarly, very high levels of HPS and TLC also imply over fermentation. Low levels of TR indicate under fermentation and the liquor tastes harsh. .