Nepali tea brand Rakura has added eight more varieties to its product range amid a tea tasting event on Wednesday. 

The newly launched products include organic green tea with the flavour of citrus fruits, chamomile, peppermint and peach sold in tea bags. 

Ram Kumar Rathi, after whose initials Rakura was named, was present at the event to share his 40 years of experience in the tea business. 

Rathi, founder and chairman of Himal Tea Industries, the producer of Rakura teas, said that all 22 varieties of their products were organically produced in Nepal while the natural flavours used in them were imported from different parts of the world. 

He said that his two sons, who came back Nepal after finishing their studies in Australia, had redone the tea business which he started. 

Managing Director Neeraj Rathi said that branding was the main problem when talking about the export market for Nepali teas. He added that problems arose in 2000 after tea producers from Darjeeling took over most of Nepal’s export market. 

Since 2012, Rakura has been doing its best to make a mark in Nepal and foreign markets by launching Rakura Tea 1.0. The newly launched Rakura Tea 2.0 will hit the shelves of 100 major stores in Kathmandu from Wednesday, and it help to further boost our image, said Rathi.                      

“Rakura Tea 2.0 is definitely of international standard. We have taken care of food safety, naturalness, taste and other aspects,” said Ravi Rathi, executive director of the company. He added that he wanted to send a message to the youths of the country that something of such quality could be produced in Nepal.

The company also claimed that the packaging was eco-friendly and fulfilled international criteria for food quality standard.             

Himalayan organic green tea with the flavour of citrus fruits, Himalayan organic green tea with chamomile flavour, Himalayan organic green tea with peppermint flavour and Himalayan organic green tea with peach flavour are the flavoured variants of the teas launched. 

Himalayan organic green tea, Himalayan organic earl grey, Himalayan organic light green tea and Himalayan English Breakfast Tea are the organic tea variants launched by Rakura. A packet containing 25 tea bags are priced from Rs100 to Rs160.