For more than a century, the history of Munnar has been linked with its tea plantations. In fact, Munnar is a place to find some of the best tea estates in the world. It is one significant employment opportunity for the people of Munnar. Kannan Devan Tea Estate is a Tata-owned tea estate in Munnar which homes to most of the tea estates of Munnar. The Tata Tea Museum, also known as KDHP Museum, is located at 2 km from the centre of Munnar. It is a part of the Nallathanni Estate of Tata Tea.
This museum stands as a tribute to all the pioneers of tea plantations of Munnar who turned it into one of the major tea distributors of Kerala. Tata Tea Museum is a one-of-its-kind museum of India. Tourists visiting here get to know about the establishment and progress of the tea plantation industry in India. Right from the manually operated tea roller to the fully automated tea factory, you get to know about every single fact related to the Munnar’s tea plantation’s automation.
This museum is a place meant for the researchers. You can gain insights about the processing of tea leaves and the marketing of the finished product. They also have an orthodox tea manufacturing unit and a mini CTC to demonstrate differential stages of tea processing. At the entrance of the Tata Tea Museum, there’s a grand 1913 made granite sundial. This is said to be a contribution from the Art Industrial School of Tamil Nadu.
This authentic museum is a place where you can find the presence of the original tea roller produced during 1905. Rotor vane and the Pelton wheel are the other key attractions of this section. Another part of the museum displays the old-fashioned bungalow furniture, magneto phone, wooden bathtub, cash safe, iron ovens and other modern and other exhibits. In one of the rooms here, you can even find an Iron Age burial urn which was widely used during the 2nd century BC.
In the end, do not forget to visit the demonstration room of this Tata Tea Museum. Here, you will get to taste various different types and flavours of tea. This demonstration is scheduled twice daily in the morning at 10:30 am and in the afternoon at 02:30 pm. There’s a nominal charge of 100 INR per head to taste the plethora of tea flavours of Munnar.
