Nepal Tea Collective is now available in Nepal.

The New York-based company has, since 2016, distributing orthodox Nepali tea sourced from small-holder community farms in Nepal, all over the United States and to buyers from more than 42 countries.

“As a part of the vision for global expansion, Nepal Tea Collective is now bringing its offerings to Nepal,” said Nishchal Banskota, co-founder of the company.

“While thousands of international buyers have experienced the freshness and rare flavours of premium organic tea, many Nepali tea lovers are yet to experience its flavour.”

He said that Nepali tea is highly appreciated globally for its richness and rarity of flavours.

“Our loose-leaf teas and organic blends have won 12 international awards, a testament to their premium quality. Having been featured in New York Times and Forbes, we have been able to build a Nepali tea identity and trusting relationships with international buyers.”

The company said that to date, they have sold more than 10 million cups of tea worldwide.

Led by Banskota and Pratik Rijal, Nepal Tea Collective was founded with a vision of disrupting the outdated and exploitative supply chains that dominate the tea industry.

Nepali tea farmers don’t have access to global markets, making them reliant on long supply chains of middlemen that keep them earning less than $2 a day.

Nepal Tea Collective has drastically shortened this supply chain for their farmers, directly connecting them to global buyers, the company said.

Recently, Amigo Khadka, a seasoned professional who has the experience of working on Wall Street to founding and scaling startups, joined as a co-founder with the dream of making Nepali tea a global household brand.

“We want to connect with Nepali tea drinkers in this same way. Our culture is saturated with CTC teas, and many Nepalis are missing out on the sheer range and quality of Nepali orthodox teas. It’s time we elevate the tea scene in Nepal and learn to appreciate the taste of our own tea,” said Khadka.

“After all, tea for us Nepalis is what scotch is for the Scots, what wine is for the French, and what chocolates are for the Swiss.”

Working with highly skilled and experienced tea producers, Nepal Tea Collective offers an exquisite variety of black, white, green, and oolong teas as well as herbal blends.

The tea ranges from award-winning black teas, like their Kanchanjangha Noir (Himalayan Sunrise) and Kumari Gold, rare black teas like their Top of the World teas, grown and produced in Solukhumbu, to award-winning white teas like White Prakash, which has been widely appreciated for its smooth mouthfeel as well as the complexity of flavours.

The company said that the products of Nepal Tea Collective are now available online on Daraz.

Nepal Tea Collective sells organic and certified tea produced in the highlands of Panchthar district. The company uses two leaves and a bud in most of the tea varieties, which makes the taste of tea unique and different, said Khadka. “The two leaves and a bud is a high-quality tea.”

According to Khadka, the package of Nepal Tea Collective has a quick response (QR) code from which buyers can get all the production and processing details digitally. The company is using bamboo sticks to pack the product to give it the Nepali feel.

Orthodox tea is hand-processed tea and is grown at high altitudes. The crush, tear, curl (CTC) or black tea is grown in the hot and humid Tarai plains of Nepal, primarily in the Jhapa district.

Nepali orthodox tea has been gaining popularity in the international market because of its quality, aroma, taste and aftertaste.

“Eight years ago, when we started the venture in the US, people only knew Darjeeling tea or Chinese tea or Ceylon tea of Sri Lanka,” Khadka said. “Nepali brand was missing in the global markets despite having a huge potential,” he added.

“We participated in the World Tea Expo and spread knowledge of Nepali tea. After seven years, we have created an identity among other teas,” Khadka said.

Nepal ships around 90 percent of its orthodox tea and 50 percent of its CTC tea to India, its southern neighbour.

According to the Department of Customs, year-on-year, Nepal's tea exports jumped 32 percent to Rs3.93 billion in the last fiscal year that ended in mid-July. Nepal exported 16,484 tonnes of tea in the review period.

In the previous fiscal year 2021-2022, the country’s tea exports amounted to 12,496 tonnes, worth Rs3.43 billion.