It is a beautiful and dated ritual. For more than 150 years, Darjeeling tea has been traded in large tea houses in India and across the world. The private trading spaces are synonymous with the an older era, when the exclusive Darjeeling tea varieties were traded behind closed doors. This is all coming to an end as India embraces e-commerce platforms.
The announcement that Darjeeling tea trading will move online follows other efforts by the government to move agricultural trading online in an effort to root out corruption and ensure better market prices for producers. Some wholesale produce markets have already moved online to cut out middlemen who were taking advantage of producers by withholding information about prevailing market prices.
The loss of such a vibrant ritual is, of course, a shame, but it is necessary for the development of the industry. With the Darjeeling shift, India is showing that it is serious about embracing the future of trade and consigning the past to the history books.