About

Tea Museum, previously known as Tata Tea Museum, is currently operated by Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company (P) Ltd. which is a spin-off company from Tata Tea Ltd in 2005.  The country’s first ever Tea Museum located at KDHP’s (Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company (P) Ltd), Nullatanni Estate, is just a five-minute drive from Munnar Town. Your visit to Munnar hill station will not complete without spending some time in the Tea Museum, exploring the history of the Tea Plantations. The museum captures the yesteryears of Munnar, how tea was developed and how the place came to be. As you’re guided through the inside, you come across artifacts, machines, furniture during the English Era, analog telephones, vintage bathroom accessories, pictures and devices that have been used over the years. Some of the attention-grabbing items on display at the Tea museum include the original tea roller, the 'Rotorvane,' dating back to 1905, used for CTC type tea processing; the 'Pelton Wheel' used in the power generation plant that existed in the Kanniamallay estate in the 1920s; a rail engine wheel of the Kundale Valley Light Railway that shuttled men and material between Munnar and Top Station during the first half of the last century. At one spot, every visitor who walks in is served a cardamom flavored tea as complimentary. You’re guided through the entire processing of tea by one of the employees, right from the time the tea leaves arrive into the factory to the time they’re converted into the famous tea that we savor at home. At the end of the tour, you’re guided to the sales outlet where you can purchase your favored variety of tea and other instruments which enable you to make authentic, factory-made tea at home. The museum authorities are also contemplating on the idea of allowing tourists to pluck tea leaves themselves and have them processed in their presence. 

Munnar Tea Museum stores an array of exotic artifacts, which cannot be found at any other museum, anywhere in the world. Some of these exclusive items on display at the museum are the 'Pelton Wheel' used in the power generation plant in the 1920s, the original tea roller (used in 1905), and a rail engine wheel of the Kundale Valley Light Railway that shuttled men and material between Munnar. A section of the tea museum also houses classic bungalow furniture, iron oven, wooden bathtub, magneto phone, typewriters, manual calculators etc. which are the legacies of the yesteryears. Tea tasting is done in the demonstration room, which is every tea lover's delight. One can taste exotic flavors from all across the world. 

Tips

• They show a documentary film for 30 mins which starts nicely with the history of tea plantation in Munnar
• there is a premium membership card for KDH that gets you a discount on your purchase at the shop. 
  

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