Apr & May 2025
The past couple of months have been incredible, as I had the opportunity to spend nearly a month in Nepal. I traveled twice to the eastern region for two-week stretches, working closely with our team and partners on the ground. This visit was focused on strengthening our operations and building long-term systems to support sustainable sourcing and a more efficient supply chain.
What’s happening recently at Nepal Tea Collective?
Eastern Nepal Visit and Learnings
One of the most exciting parts of visiting eastern Nepal was tasting a range of first-flush greenish-black teas, each with its own distinct character and a lot of floralness. If you haven't had a chance to try out the first flush, please take a look at it here.
Unlike previous visits, which were focused mostly on smallholder farmers, I spent time at larger tea factories to understand their realities. What I saw was both insightful and sobering: many of them are still heavily dependent on Indian buyers, often barely breaking even due to lack of direct market access. Yet, there were a few that had secured consistent buyers in European markets, which gave me hope and reinforced the importance of market diversification and direct trade, the very values we aim to uphold.
With growing global uncertainties, we've seen increased interest in teas that can serve as substitutes or diversify existing offerings. And I was blown away by the quality and innovation of the tea makers in the factories I visited.
Highlights included the near-complete rebuild of Sharad’s factory and meeting inspiring tea makers like Mankumar and Anshu. The trip reaffirmed the strength and potential of Nepal’s tea community.
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We’re thrilled to share that in Yahoo’s latest roundup of the Best Teas of 2025, our white tea was named Best Organic Tea and our black tea was awarded Best Loose Leaf Tea. To be recognized alongside some of the world’s most beloved tea brands—Fortnum & Mason, Magic Hour, Numi Organic Tea, Moosa, and Guayakí Yerba Mate—is an incredible honor and a powerful reminder that tea from Nepal is finally stepping into the spotlight it deserves.
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Despite tea being one of the most consumed beverages in the world, artisanal and specialty tea has lagged behind wine, craft beer, and specialty coffee in gaining mainstream recognition. This is due to a mix of limited consumer education, colonial trade legacies, and a lack of direct connection to origin and farmers. The blog explores how transparency, storytelling, and community could shape the future of tea.
This is just a small take from my end. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
After months of planning, we’re finally all set for the Northeast Tea Festival in Somerville, Boston on August 23rd! We now have 22 amazing vendors signed up, and the excitement is building. If you’re in the Boston area, we’d love for you to join us! This will be a fantastic opportunity for tea lovers to come together and enjoy teas from a variety of origins around the world. Special thanks to Sakar from our team for leading this effort from our end.
We also celebrated International Tea Day on May 21 by relaunching our “Humans of Tea” series on Instagram. This is a storytelling project that celebrates and honors all the people involved in tea, from farmers to pluckers to tea shop owners to tea connoisseurs.
Behind every cup of tea is a human story, often untold, and this series is our way of giving those stories the stage they deserve. Tea has the power to spark conversations and build connections that go beyond borders. And this is exactly what we aim to do: to bring people from all walks of life across the globe together over a shared love for tea.
Your work in tea makes you a human of tea too! If you want your story to be featured in our series, do reach out to us!
What's happening at the farm in Nepal?
Certifications
We currently have several certification audits in progress, including WFTO, Biodiversity, and Organic, with the organic certification being our highest priority at the moment. The organic inspection is tentatively scheduled for the first week of June.
In addition, we recently completed the audit for our new facility in Nepal and are now awaiting the certification results for that as well. Our entity in the US also will be getting our B-Corp certification very soon!!
Garden Plucking – Second Flush
Second flush harvesting is ongoing starting last week. We have already sent the quantities that we require for our Sep/Oct shipment to all of the farms. Also, there are some of our buyers who will be working with us to do contract farming starting this year. Exciting times ahead for us.
Lemongrass Expansion
Due to increased demand from both existing clients and new partners, there is an urgent need to expand lemongrass cultivation within the garden. We are focusing our efforts on producing and planting additional saplings using seeds and cuttings from our current lemongrass stock.
Compost Manure Development
Construction of two compost facilities is currently underway: One near Chankhalale Pre-School and one at Jhakri Dada. We are actively collecting compostable material from local farmers, along with garden weeding waste and other organic inputs. All materials are being processed in alignment with organic farming standards.
More updates coming soon!
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