If you drive 250 kilometers west of Bangalore, India, you reach Sakleshpur, where the coffee country begins. And sitting here amongst the coffee estates is a tea garden called Kadamane. And that itself seemed reason enough to book a stay.
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Archives: Articles
Who’s Cooking Badaga Food?
Badaga food from the tea-growing Nilgiri mountains is distinctive from all other Indian tea-inspired cuisines. Tourists drawn to South India are fascinated by the stories of this indigenous tribe that has lived in the Blue Mountains for centuries.
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On a Chai Trail – The Parsi Choi
Parsis call tea choi, not chai, cha, or tea, but choi. Choi was never, ever consumed on its own. There were always Bhakras, the soft cookies made with dough fermented using palm toddy, or chaapat, a flat, mildly sweet pancake. For special occasions, ghaari – thick dough discs filled with a mixture of bananas cooked in ghee, dates cooked till gooey, or a sweet dal paste were served.
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Teahouse Treks: Of Himalayan Hospitality and Tranquility
The aroma of sweet tea wafts through the air, that weary trekkers like us respond eagerly to. Over the years, I have taken to stopping by the teahouses on my treks, even if for a brief pause.
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Romantic Teas
A sweet herbal tea of peach, pineapple, and lemon myrtle, Romantic Garden conjures up the poetic atmosphere of a garden strewn with delicate fruits and blossoms.
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Cocooned in Darjeeling: The Mayfair Manor, Jungpana
Stay in a restored bungalow originally built in 1910 and once the residence of the Nepali royal family. It offers 12 exquisitely decorated and spacious suites, each named for an historical figure attached to the estate.
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The Indulgence of Tea Bungalows
Experience a holiday in the tea gardens and hotels near Darjeeling where lodging is an indulgence, with old-world charm and gorgeous vistas.
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Corporate Gifting Suggestions
Consider presenting clients and staff a corporate gift for the holidays that is guaranteed to impress.
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Authentic and Sustainable Tea Tourism
Consumers who experience the origin, terroir, and processing of the leaves in the cup can engage more deeply by visiting tea-growing regions to learn about tea. Visiting origin forever alters one’s relationship to tea. But before delving into the myriad tour options it is important to reflect on how our actions may impact others. Namely, while simultaneously seeking an authentic, hands-on tea tour, one must also consider which programs are sustainable and respectfully engage the host culture(s).
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Take Your Tea on a Picnic
Enjoying tea and food outside allows you to soak up nature’s vibrant energy. Tea-party picnics act as a soothing tonic for our overstimulated bodies and remind us that the simplest things in life often come with the greatest rewards.
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How to Host the Ultimate Tea-Themed BBQ
Tea makes everything taste better, from BBQ sauce to spice rubs and frozen desserts. Learn how to use tea to cook delicious party food. Whether grilling outdoors with friends or enjoying a picnic on the beach, the Summer Fun issue is packed with suggestions for entertaining outdoors with tea-themed recipes and iced and cold-brew teas, pitchers, brewers, utensils, and gifts.
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Pairing Tea With Alcohol: Dad’s New Favorite Hobby
This Father’s Day, give your dad the gift of experiencing the satisfaction and pride of creating something utterly delicious and unique. From single malt Scotches and artisanal Mezcals to aged Pu’ers and Assams, the fascinating world of pairing tea with alcohol will surely capture his imagination.
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Sustainable Tourism: Nepal Tea Collective
Nepal Tea Collective, based in the US, offers a unique ten-day tour that allows visitors to experience Nepali tea gardens from various perspectives. They offer their guests a chance to peek into the trade secrets, meet amazing tea farmers and producers, and taste unlimited delicious teas directly from the organic gardens lapped on the Himalayan foothills.
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Teaware
The imaginative and extravagant Borek Sipek invites us to visit a world similar to the circus and Italian opera buffa: the characters are all there, from the decanters with stoppers similar to a clown cap to the jugs with skirts and arms resting on the hips and the jugs-jar with colored ribbon handle
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Tea Blends & Boxes
Tea gift sets fit to take to the office, be it across town, or upstairs! A variety of teas sure to delight.
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Tea for Two Gift Sets
Sharing a divine cup of tea or two with your sweetheart is always romantic. Make it even more special with one of these tea-for-two gift ideas.
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Tea Utensils
A beautiful tea tray byThéières du Monde will elevate your tea ceremonies. This finely crafted wood tray is ideal for a traditional gong fu style tea tasting for dad.
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Tea Gift Sets for Dad
Variety is the spice of life. Show a bundle of love for Dad with a gift of tea and accessories Selections include multiple teas, like these loose-leaf teas from Nepal as well as brewers, utensils, and more.
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Unique Tea Gifts
Now this really is for the Dad-Who-Has-Everything. This small, relatively lightweight matcha stone mill is handcrafted by master stoneworkers from stone quarried in Japan’s Kagawa Prefecture. Your father can show off traditional, perfectly ground matcha to the envy of his friends.
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Jewelry for Tea Lovers
There are traditional and treasured tokens of your love and respect, but don’t overlook amusing tea-themed jewelry choices for a modern mom.
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A Tale of Two Kathmandu Tea Shops
Bhairab Risal, a veteran journalist with a sharp memory at 94, speaks with ease and zeal of his memories of the early days of Kathmandu’s tea culture. In 1948, at the age of 20, he recalled his first cup of tea at Tilauri Mailako Pasal, one of Kathmandu’s earliest and best-known tea shops. In this article, Kathmandu journalist Prawash Gautam shares tales of two storied tea houses.
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Tea Ornaments
Renowned for its rich heritage and innovative designs, Spode’s product portfolio appeals across the generations. The tea-time ornaments in this series make a perfect gift idea for the tea enthusiast. Each ornament can stand upright on a flat surface. Remove the ribbon and strings to use as year-round decor.
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Holiday Teaware
Create a nostalgic festive atmosphere in your home with the Christmassy Toy’s Delight collection. The crockery is adorned with playful motifs in red, green, and white and brings back childhood memories. To combine, collect and give. This festive-themed small milk jug is ideal for a Christmas coffee break. Enjoy reflective moments.
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Lydia Gautier, Sommelière Pionnière du Thé
Pionnière dans le domaine de la sommellerie du thé et auteure de plusieurs ouvrages de référence sur le thé, Lydia Gautier a été consultante pour des marques internationales. Ses 25 années d’expérience et de proximité avec des producteurs l’ont conduite à devenir une des figures majeures de l’expertise du thé dans le monde, et à créer en 2107 sa propre marque, Lydia Gautier Thés et Tisanes. En 2021, elle préside le jury technique des thés monovariétals du concours de l’Association de Valorisation des Produits Agricoles (AVPA) qui récompense les meilleurs thés de spécialité.
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Stove Top Kettles
Hear the kettle boil! Simple classics with elegant lines, sturdy stand-bys, kettles that make a fashion statement, and modern marvels with integrated thermometers.
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A New Normal
Happiness is only elusive when you pursue it. During the pandemic, for the first time in generations, fathers found themselves at home spending daylight hours with their children, who in pre-pandemic times, would have been at school. Families cooked together ate together and shared time in front of the TV. Fathers who invested in the most important, meaningful relationships of spouse and offspring, siblings, and parents found an overall sense of satisfaction. As the threat lessens and our lives resume consider retaining a bit of a “pandemic mindset.” Remember, the new normal is what you make it to be.
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Nepali Tea Opportunity
A lack of infrastructure, a lack of capital, natural disasters, a pandemic, and a very tough competitor at the border – are the challenges faced by Nepal growers. The Nepal Tea and Coffee Development Board report that very few (3,244) of the three million employed in Nepal’s tea industry work full-time. Seventy-four percent of temporary workers are women, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. There are 18,180 small farm owners, in stark contrast to India’s vast tea plantations and the social complexity of such systems. The farmers can either process the tea themselves or sell the raw leaves to factories.
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Stocking Stuffers
This practical tea journal is the perfect companion on your journey through the word of tea. On 40 pages, you can quickly and easily record your thoughts during a tea tasting. Due to its clear design, the journal is suitable for tea novices and professionals.
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Marketing Nepal Tea
The Nepal tea industry has the potential to grow and prosper. However, for this to happen, effective marketing strategies must promote Nepali tea domestically and internationally. Nepal is investing in marketing its tea globally through NISTEP (Nepal Increased Sustainability Tea Exports Project). NISTEP funded this marketing plan, customized to meet the goals of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies.
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Tea Processing at Innovative Jasbire Tea Factory
To get his fill of the best quality fresh tea leaves, Sharad Subba partners with 80 farmers in the neighborhood. This is one of the many ways Jasbire Tea Processing Center keeps the manufacturing of tea communal and delivers one of the finest Nepal teas. The quality tea made in Subba’s factory is consistent, distinctive, and truly representative of Jasbire.
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Nepal’s Specialty Tea Evolution
The Barbote tea farm is nestled in the steep hills of Ilam, Nepal. It was planted by Narendra Kumar Gurung’s grandfather and tended by his father. Narendra spent most of his working years with the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Like most of Nepal’s new-generation farmers, specialty tea is a new endeavor built on a century-old foundation of commodity production.
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Rural Entrepreneurs Establish Nepal’s National Brand
Nepal’s eastern tea-growing region leads the country’s tea trade, but the landscape is changing as rural entrepreneurs expand the tea terroir. Upcoming tea brands are establishing Nepal Tea as a global brand offering premium differentiated products with a compelling story that is authentic and modern.
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Marten’s Favorites
Hamburg’s tea community is unique. Virtually all the tea imported into Germany is offloaded at Bremen and Hamburg, home to 211 tea companies. In addition, there are 300 tea companies in Berlin, and München has 152. Combined, these three provinces account for a 17% share of the German market. There are 3,858 tea companies in Germany, a testament to the fact that Germans love every type of tea. This collection of holiday gifts was curated by Marten Verch, a tea consultant, and writer who lives in Hamburg.
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Tea Mugs and Bowls
Teaware from matcha bowls to sturdy mugs and delicate China porcelain will find its place in the kitchen, home office, and on the dining table. Convenience, color, and style make this category a favorite for gifting.
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Kanchanjangha is Nepal’s First Certified Organic Tea Garden
Long before marketers labeled it organic, Nepal tea was grown with care. Harmony with nature was always the province of the nation’s 18,000 small tea farmers clinging to the mountainsides like the trees they nurtured.
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The Challenge of Change
This has been a year for reflection, an opportunity to re-examine our habits and everyday routines. Lockdowns and losses re-emphasize the importance of maintaining our good health―both physical and mental. Tea calmed us during the pandemic, it provided a pleasant daily pleasure―a welcome break. Tea became an at-home habit worth preserving.
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Purnima Rai’s Nepal Garden
Smallholders are the backbone of the tea industry, especially in underdeveloped Nepal. Here’s the story of one Nepali smallholder: a widowed grandmother who has spent a lifetime nurturing tea in turn with nature, faith and family.
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Remote Farming During a Pandemic
The pandemic was the worst thing to happen to Nepal’s Kanchanjangha Tea Estate, but there is a silver lining. It radically changed how we work, says Nishchal Banskota, who manages operations via Zoom calls between Long Island, New York, and his family’s tea estate. It’s early morning for me and the end of the day for him, but after nine months, he says, “I have more confidence that I can manage a farm remotely.”
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In Spring all the World Celebrates Motherhood
Each spring, the entire world celebrates the role of mothers with grateful appreciation. The practice of families traveling to their ancestral home in Spring dates to antiquity and remains an occasion for festivals and fairs in both Asia and Western countries. The holiday is recognized from March through May.
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Tea-infused Beauty and Bath
Known for centuries as a skincare superfood, green tea is everywhere in cosmetics from tea-infused beauty and bath products including skin conditioners, soaps, and balms to overnight masks.
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Tea boxes/Gift sets
Gift sets of tea with teaware make memories all the more precious on Mother’s Day. These selections include infusers, tea pots, a matcha set, and sachets in tins.
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Spicy Teas
Hard to imagine a more tempting winter combo: Black tea, cloves, almond flavor, orange flavor, vanilla flavor, flower petals, three types of cinnamon, and orange pieces. Gift this spicy tea in its cheerful, red 4-oz. tin—and consider keeping one for yourself, too.
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Valentines Teapots
Almost everyone has a secret charm secretly locked in the back of the mind: a magic word, favorite number, or familiar habit – in short, something guaranteed to bring good luck. A star has fallen from the sky on top of this teapot like a lucky star to brighten your table, guaranteed to make a wish come true with every cup of tea.
Read MoreSustainable Tourism: Pinglin, Taiwan
Wow Taiwan provides half-day and day-long tours and experiential learning trips in villages across northern Taiwan. They offer several Slow Tea Tours, notably the Tea Master Tour as well as the Tea Mountains Culture Tour both in Pinglin Taiwan’s first eco-village.
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Sustainable Tourism: Higashi Sonogi, Japan
Green Tea Homestay is managed by Nakayama Hisatsugu. The tea factory has been operated for over 70 years by the Nakayama family who is committed to environmentally friendly practices across agricultural cultivations. They initiated an outreach program in eco-tourism in 2014.
Read MoreSustainable Tourism: Makaibari Tea Estate
Tea fields at Makaibari Tea Estate, West Bengal, India Makaibari Sustainable Tourism: West Bengal, India The Makaibari Tea Estate is among one of the most well-known tea estates across the world. Their internationally prize-winning teas are highly appraised, and many stakeholders are none other than legends within the tea world. […]
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Tea in the Great Outdoors
High adventure is not the first thing that comes to mind for those who enjoy tea but tea is a remarkably versatile companion outdoors, hot or cold.
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Iced & Cold Brew Teas
Many types of hot teas readily adapt to cold brew as well as a summer favorite: Iced tea. Here are some suggestions, from black to white, green to Assam, that will make relaxing outside just a bit more cool and tasty.
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Tea Accessories
Measuring caddy spoons recall the era when real shells were put in tea chests to allow buyers to take samples. Indispensable for correct tea preparation, this measuring caddy spoon is of Art déco style.
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Origin India: Discovering The Wild Tea Forest of Assam
Pradip Baruah was born curious. He spends much of his time in the office and lab as chief advisory officer at the Tocklai Tea Research Institute (TRI) in Jorhat, Assam, but loves an adventure whenever the opportunity arises. In January he fulfilled one of his long held dreams on a walk into the jungles of Assam where he photographed an ancient wild forest of Camellia Assamica, a species of large-leaf tea distinct from China’s Camellia Sinensis.
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