BB35
A Darjeeling clone selected at the Bannockburn garden and widely propagated across the district, one of the group of estate-named clones that replaced seed-grown planting in the Himalayan gardens. It carries the sinensis-leaning character Darjeeling depends on while yielding better than the old China bushes, and it is one of the clones most often named when a garden lists what a particular lot was picked from.
Where it sits in the botany
BB35 is recorded under Hybrid, the variety group one level above cultivar. It is associated with India, which is where it was selected or is most widely planted rather than the only place it grows.
Registration code: BB35. A breeding or registration code identifies the selection in an institutional register and is often the name a grower uses when the trade name is not.
Also transliterated as: bb35, bannockburn 35.
Where it came from
Selected at the Bannockburn estate in Darjeeling and propagated as a named clone across the district.
How firm this is: Inferred rather than taken from a primary breeding or registration record. The clone designation and its Darjeeling provenance are genuine; the selection date and parentage were not verified against a primary source.
What the plant is like
Small-leaf hybrid stock suited to Darjeeling elevations, giving an aromatic, muscatel-capable second flush with better yield than seed-grown China bush.
What it is usually made into
The categories this cultivar is typically processed into. It is a statement about common practice, not a limit — processing decides the category, and a cultivar can be taken down more than one route.
- Black tea — Tea taken deliberately through full enzymatic oxidation, giving the dark leaf, amber-to-red liquor and malty or brisk character most Western drinkers think of as simply 'tea'.
Teas in the catalogue made from BB35
Other cultivars in Hybrid
Sources
- TeaHQ editorial synthesis — TeaHQ
This page is TeaHQ’s own synthesis throughout. No breeding register or institutional record stands behind the account above, which is why the origin note carries its confidence in the open rather than reading as a citation.
Written comparisons
Where TeaHQ has set this cultivar against something it is routinely confused with, and argued the differences out in full.
- BB35 vs AV2 in Darjeeling — Two clonal choices replacing Darjeeling’s old seed-grown China bush, and the reason first flush tastes different now from a generation ago. Both offer better yield than seed stock; they differ in what they give up for it.