KDHP Tea Museum

The KDHP Tea Museum, also known as the Tata Tea Museum, is located in the Nallathanni Estate near Munnar town in Kerala's Idukki district. Established in 2004, it showcases the history and evolution of tea plantations in the region through vintage machinery, photographs, and live demonstrations. Visitors can observe traditional and modern tea processing methods, watch a documentary on plantation history, and participate in tea tasting sessions featuring various local varieties.

Visitors can explore exhibits displaying antique tea-processing equipment including rollers, dryers, and grinders that illustrate the evolution from manual to automated production. The museum features period photographs documenting early plantation life, colonial-era bungalow furniture, and office equipment. A short film presents the history of tea cultivation in Munnar. Live demonstrations show tea processing stages, and visitors can sample different tea varieties at the tasting counter. The Chai Bazaar offers tea products for purchase. The museum is situated within working tea gardens with views of rolling hills.

The museum was established on April 1, 2004, by Tata Tea to preserve the heritage of tea plantations in Munnar. The Kanan Devan Hills Plantations date back to the 1880s when British planters established the first tea estates. The museum documents the transformation of Munnar from uninhabited forest land into a major tea-producing region, showcasing equipment from a rudimentary tea roller of 1905 to fully automated factories. A rail engine wheel from the Kundala Valley Railway (operational until 1924) is displayed, along with a 2nd-century burial urn discovered at Periakanal tea estate.

The museum preserves the cultural heritage of Kerala's tea industry and commemorates the pioneers who developed Munnar's plantations. It showcases colonial-era artifacts including bungalow furniture and office equipment, reflecting the socio-cultural aspects of plantation life during the British period. The museum serves as an educational resource about tea cultivation traditions and their economic impact on the region.