Where to buy good spices and tea in Thekkady? AVT Tea Factory in Karadikuzhy

There are plenty of spices and tea leaves selling shops available in and near Thekkady and most of them are very much expensive. This is because of the location and commission business. If your taxi driver is taking is taking you to some shops to buy spices or tea, you will be charged approximately 50% extra than the real price and don’t get surprised that their commission on a sale is 50%.

Most of the tea production companies are having their outlet in Thekkady, Kumily, Vandiperiyar and almost all the places on the highway towards Kottayam.

If you are traveling from Thekkady to Kottayam or Kochi, you can find an AVT Factory Outlet at Karadykuzhi, which is 21 Km from Kumily town towards Kochi. AVT (AV Thomas & Co. Ltd) is established in 1925 and the popular tea among Indians so far.

The outlet at Karadikuzhi has tea from Pasuparai and Caradygoody estate. I had purchased two packets of Caradygoody tea which cost Rs. 180/- Kg. The tea was fresh and neatly packed.

The Tea outlet here is the main stopover point for travelers. There is a vegetarian restaurant named ‘Annapoorna’ serves good food. They do serve South Indian, North Indian as well as Chinese cuisine. There is also a local tea stall where you can taste the different varieties of tea which is selling through the tea outlet.

The pricing of various Tea-Grade is given below.

Apart from the various grades of Tea, they do also have the following spices available at an affordable price.

Coffee

• Coffee – Grade 1 (Pure Coffee) – Rs. 100 for 250 gm and Rs. 170 for 500 gm.
• Coffee – Grade 2 (Coffe: 80% & Chicory: 20%) for Rs. 90 & Rs. 160 respectively for 250 & 500 gms.
• Coffe – Grade 3 (Coffe: 60% and Chicory: 40%) for Rs. 80 for 250 gm & Rs. 140 for 500 gm.

Pepper

• 6 grabled black pepper pouch of 250 gm will cost you Rs. 200 & bottle for Rs. 210
• White pepper is available for Rs. 125 for 100 gm

Cardamom

• Cardamom Jumbo Green – Rs. 80 (50 gm), Rs. 150 (100 gm), Rs. 380 (250 gm)
• Cardamom Super Green – Rs. 60 (50 gm), Rs. 120 (100 gm), Rs. 200 (250 gm)
• Cardamom Premium Light – Rs. 10 (10 gm), Rs. 20 (20 gm), Rs. 30 (30 gm)

They do also have some kind of cardiology special tea. But it won’t be available all the time. And I really don’t know what this special tea can help you for cardiology-related issues?

If you would like to visit a tea factory for seeing the process of making tea, you can go to Connemara Tea Estate, which is in between Karadikuzhi and Kumily near to Vandiperiyar. They do also have an outlet at the entrance where you can buy premium quality tea packets which are fresh and pure.