Prospecting the potential of black turmeric herbal tea: Cultivation, processing, preparation and marketable characteristics

Curcuma caesia Roxb. locally called Kali Haldi in India, is a well-known medicinal herb, traditionally used in the management of many health problems including high blood pressure, stomach pain, diarrhea, muscle stiffness, nerve injury, ulcer, cancer, acidity, stomach bloat, gastric, weight management and joint pain. This herb is found to be gown in almost all Indian kitchen yard without any product to be sold in market. The present work explores the potential of unexplored C. caesia in the domain of sustainable agro-farming, the herbal tea industry, its cultivation, processing, preventive medicine, and marketable features for the employment generation. The major objectives of this study were to explore the potential of the shoot parts of the C. caesia as an herbal tea and explore the potential of C. caesia as a means of alternative livelihood, development of a healthy alternative beverage. Manual labour activities were used in cultivation, hybrid methods of dehydration and maceration were used in the processing of herbal tea and packaging were done manually, Door to door marketing and word of mouth were used in the marketing of C. caesia herbal tea. For the first time, the study reports the leaves of C. caesia as a source of herbal tea, the study also reports potential of C. caesia in relation with agro industry prospects, sustainable development, preventive medicine, employment generation and healthy beverage. The present study is a contribution to the mankind in the introduction of C. caesia as herbal health tea and put forwards the lines “Let Tea Be a Medicine and Medicine Be a Tea”.