Today he says: “We still haven’t managed to discern a pattern for what makes a good and what makes a bad tea year. Too much rain hasn’t yet been a problem. Too much cold at the wrong time of year is a problem. We had a 12-month picking season until last February which we thought was unbelievable. Less in winter but still, picking all year round. Then winter came in March and April. What I usually say to journalists in February – “ he pauses and I hear the rattle of a keyboard down the phone – “I usually tell them to check the weather in Darjeeling as it’s usually warmer here than there, but they’re having unseasonably warm weather at the moment. It's 24c there today.”