May 2023

I hope you are all having a wonderful day! It has been a while since I last updated you. Just wanted to let you know that Nish is currently managing the tea tours and will be in Nepal until the end of June. As for me, I was in LA for two weeks, and it was quite hectic juggling team management along with attending expos and a pitch competition.

Here’s what’s new at Nepal Tea Collective

• We are delighted to share that the initial two groups have already relished their time in Nepal, as part of our tea tours. Currently, we are hosting our third cohort, comprising our esteemed partner from Alaska and her group. Our tea tour initiative has proven to be a remarkable means to establish a connection between our tea partners and tea producers in Nepal. If you wish to be a part of this exciting journey, please peruse the detailed itinerary or enroll for one of our tours.

• Following a lengthy period of trial and error, we have successfully developed the design for compostable tea bags, albeit with a delay of a month or two in the launch date. Despite this setback, we are thrilled to have made significant progress in this area.
• Furthermore, we have successfully secured a co-packer for Yacon Syrup in the US. In case you are unfamiliar with Yacon, it is renowned for its crunchy, sweet roots and is utilized as a natural sweetener, possessing various health benefits. Yacon syrup is a simple process, involving crushing and pressing the juicy tubers, followed by cooking the juice into a syrup.
• I had the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks in LA recently, and it turned out to be a productive trip. The first week was devoted to pitching Nepal Tea to around 25 investors and the second week, I attended Kombucha Kon. It was an excellent opportunity to network with professionals from the Kombucha industry, and I came away inspired to start brewing my own Kombucha at home.

Updates from the garden

• We've successfully completed the first flush production and the dormant period has started. The dormancy will last for a period of 15 days until the second flush starts
• We have submitted all of our documents for Organic Certification and we should have our garden's inspection in the next few weeks. 
• Chamomile harvest and processing has been completed and we are planning on a shipment soon. 
• Our tea tours continue to progress, and we're excited to share that construction of the glass dome in the heart of the tea garden is still underway. There was a delay in getting the construction materials, but we should have it ready in the next month or so. 

What makes Nepali Teas unique? 

It all starts with the microclimate of the regions in Nepal. The tea bushes – mostly Chinese varietals and some Assamica – sit on the laps of the foothills of the third highest mountain, Mt. Kanchenjunga and other Himalayas; they are the bedrocks of some of the freshest and unique teas. The altitude, fresh winds from the Himalayas, unpolluted environment all goes into the mix along with the opposite direction winds from Bay of Bengal. All of this is a perfect recipe for quite a volatile micro-climate of the region.

While it may sound counterintuitive, the volatile microclimate actually allows the tea bushes to make flavonoid compounds as part of their defense mechanism and to relieve stress during this volatile environment. These compounds are generally responsible for the unique flavors in the tea from the region. Furthermore, the tea bushes are quite young compared to the other regions in the world, which further adds to the freshness and floral characteristics of any tea produced in Nepal.