Bannockburn Tea Estate

Bannockburn Tea Estate is a black tea producer situated in West Bengal, India, at an elevation of 1,724 metres. The estate is operated by Chamong Tee Exports Pvt. Ltd., a company with a portfolio of tea gardens in the region. Bannockburn is recorded as a supplier to the British supermarket chains Morrisons and Sainsbury's.

Terroir & Climate

At 1,724 metres above sea level, Bannockburn occupies a high-elevation site in West Bengal's tea-growing belt. Estates at this altitude typically experience cooler temperatures and greater diurnal variation than lowland gardens, conditions that tend to slow leaf development and can contribute to more concentrated flavour compounds in the processed tea. The latitude of approximately 27°N places the estate in a zone where the monsoon cycle generally exerts considerable influence over the growing calendar.

High-altitude gardens in this region often contend with mist, cloud cover, and well-distributed rainfall during the growing months, factors that can moderate direct sun exposure and reduce stress on the tea bushes. These environmental conditions tend to favour a slower, more even maturation of the flush, which is often associated with complexity in the cup. Temperature variation between day and night at this elevation may also play a role in the development of desirable secondary metabolites in the leaf.

Tea Produced

Bannockburn produces black tea. High-elevation West Bengal gardens at comparable altitudes often yield teas with brightness and aromatic complexity, characteristics that tend to be prized in the segment of the market seeking flavour depth rather than bulk volume. Black teas from estates at this elevation in the region are generally processed to preserve the floral and fruit notes that can emerge from slower-grown leaf, though cup character will vary by season, plucking standard, and manufacturing technique employed on the estate.

Supply Chain & Market Position

Bannockburn's recorded supply relationships with Morrisons and Sainsbury's indicate its integration into the retail supply chains of two of the United Kingdom's largest supermarket groups. This positioning suggests that the estate's output meets the quality assurance, traceability, and certification standards required by major British grocers, and that its production scale and consistency are sufficient to support ongoing commercial relationships with buyers operating at significant volume. The presence of these buyers in the estate's customer base reflects its role in the segment of the Indian tea industry that services branded and own-label products for the UK market.

• Recorded supplier to  Morrisons
• Recorded supplier to  Sainsbury's

Operator

Chamong Tee Exports Pvt. Ltd. operates Bannockburn Tea Estate along with six other tea estates recorded in our directory. This multi-garden structure provides the operating company with a diversified production base across West Bengal's tea-growing regions, allowing for portfolio management and the ability to offer buyers a range of profiles and seasonal lots. Chamong's presence as a regional operator with multiple estates reflects a business model common among mid-to-large-scale tea companies in India, where economies of scale in processing, logistics, and market access are leveraged across several garden properties.

Certifications & Ethics

Bannockburn Tea Estate holds certification from the Ethical Tea Partnership, a multi-stakeholder initiative that sets standards for labour rights, health and safety, and environmental stewardship on tea estates. For buyers, this certification provides third-party assurance that the estate has undergone monitoring against defined criteria covering working conditions, wages, and community welfare. For workers, membership in the Ethical Tea Partnership framework is intended to support improvements in workplace standards and access to grievance mechanisms, though the effectiveness of such schemes depends on the rigour of audits and the implementation of corrective action plans.

Location & Neighbouring Estates

Bannockburn Tea Estate lies at 27.0615, 88.2765 in West Bengal, India. Its 1724 m elevation is the joint 3rd highest of 24 estates we map in West Bengal. The nearest estates in the TeaTrade directory, measured point-to-point from these coordinates, are:

• Ging Tea Estate — under 1 km away
• Phoobsering Tea Estate — under 1 km away
• Happy valley — 1.9 km away
• Potong Tea Garden — 2.4 km away · Darjeeling
• Glenburn Tea Estate — 2.5 km away · Darjeeling

Estates at a Similar Altitude to Bannockburn Tea Estate

Elevation shapes how slowly leaf matures, so we match Bannockburn Tea Estate (1,724 m) with estates within 150 m of its height that are not its neighbours. Each is shown with its own 2025 climate. Bannockburn Tea Estate recorded 2,294 mm in 2025, 38% more than the 1,662 mm average across these estates: at the same height, local weather and exposure matter as much as elevation.

Estate	Where	Elevation	Rain 2025	Mean high
Gumaro	Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	1,725 m	1,663 mm	25.0 °C
Green Fountain Yunnan Tea Co., Ltd- Lailong	Yunnan Province, China	1,718 m	2,028 mm	21.8 °C
SITOI (Sitoi Factory)	P.O. Box Lantana Rd, Kenya	1,713 m	792 mm	24.8 °C
Rukuriri Tea Factory	RUKURIRI TEA FACTORY, Kenya	1,711 m	1,029 mm	21.4 °C
High Forest Tea Estate	Dudley Senanayake Mawatha, Sri Lanka	1,744 m	2,796 mm	20.4 °C

Bannockburn Tea Estate Compared with West Bengal

In West Bengal, Bannockburn Tea Estate is drier than 91% of the others by 2025 rainfall; higher than 83% of the others by elevation; cooler than 91% of the others by daytime temperature. The table sets Bannockburn Tea Estate against the 23 other estates we map in West Bengal, so you can see whether it is typical for its region or an outlier.

Measure	Bannockburn Tea Estate	Region median	Region range
Elevation	1,724 m	1,324 m	10 to 2,071 m
Annual rainfall (2025)	2,294 mm	2,552 mm	1,859 to 2,870 mm
Mean daily high	19.3 °C	21.0 °C	17.1 to 31.3 °C
Mean overnight low	11.7 °C	14.0 °C	9.5 to 22.7 °C

Observed Climate at Bannockburn Tea Estate (2025)

ERA5 reanalysis data modelled for Bannockburn Tea Estate’s coordinates recorded 2,294 mm of precipitation across calendar year 2025. The wettest month was August (644 mm) and the driest was December (10 mm). Daytime highs averaged 19.3 °C and overnight lows 11.7 °C over the year; July was the warmest month and February the coolest.

Metric	2025 value
Annual precipitation	2,294 mm
Wettest month	August (644 mm)
Driest month	December (10 mm)
Mean daily high	19.3 °C
Mean overnight low	11.7 °C

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Bannockburn Tea Estate located?

Bannockburn Tea Estate is in West Bengal, India, at coordinates 27.0615, 88.2765, at an elevation of about 1724 metres.

Who operates Bannockburn Tea Estate?

Bannockburn Tea Estate is operated by Chamong Tee Exports Pvt. Ltd., according to public supply-chain records.

What type of tea does Bannockburn Tea Estate produce?

Bannockburn Tea Estate is recorded as producing black tea.

Which buyers does Bannockburn Tea Estate supply?

Public supplier disclosures record Bannockburn Tea Estate as supplying Morrisons, Sainsbury's.

What certifications does Bannockburn Tea Estate hold?

Bannockburn Tea Estate is recorded as holding the following certification(s): Ethical Tea Partnership.

How much rain does Bannockburn Tea Estate receive?

ERA5 reanalysis data for the estate's coordinates recorded 2,294 mm of precipitation in 2025, peaking in August (644 mm).

Data sources: public supply-chain disclosures (Ethical Tea Partnership member lists, Rainforest Alliance certificate holders and retailer supplier disclosures); climate figures are ERA5 reanalysis modelled for the estate’s coordinates via Open-Meteo (calendar year 2025); coordinates and elevations from geocoded records. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].