states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, but are predominantly within the District of Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu. Located within the Western Ghats mountain range and the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, the Nilgiri tea growing areas range between 1,000 and 2,500 metres in elevation and are exposed to the Southwest Monsoon weather from the Malabar Coast from June to September, followed by the Northeast Monsoon in October to November. The resulting alternating periods of fog and direct sunlight, as well as the South Western Ghats montane rain forests soils, described as lateritic loam, on the hillsides provides the high elevation drainage and conditions needed for Camellia sinensis var. sinensis to thrive. Cultivation of tea in the Nilgiri region is conducted on few large corporate holdings, many small farms and the government-owned Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation. The small holders, typically under 1 hectare, vary widely in their practices, such as soil management, use of shade trees, ground cover, fertilizers and pesticides, plant age, etc. However, common to the region, plucking can occur approximately every 10 days almost all year round, typically 32 annual pluckings per plant. As opposed to the assamica variety, the sinensis variety requires a period of dormancy; in Nilgiris there is a short dormancy period during the cold temperatures of December–January. The first leaves after the dormancy are some of the plant's most flavourful as they contain a higher concentration of defensive compounds secreted during the cold weather. This first harvest, plucked from January to March, is referred to as "frost tea" since it is collected in relatively cold but humid weather. The larger estates own and operate their own processing facilities for drying, rolling, oxidizing and sorting the leaves. There are numerous independent or cooperatively-owned processing facilities ("bought leaf factories") that buy green leaves from the small farms, with price and quality levels prescribed by the Tea Board of India. The processed leaves ("made tea"), that are not otherwise purchased on a contract basis, are sold at tea auctions in Coonoor, Coimbatore and Kochi. These factories predominantly produce black tea, but some also produce limited quantities of specialty white, green and oolong teas. Of the black tea produced, most use the crush, tear, curl (CTC) method though since the 2000s, as Argentina and Vietnam took more CTC market share, orthodox (e.g. rolled) teas have also been produced. Flavour and blends Nilgiri tea is known for its briskness, referring