This trip was a Tea Garden Intensive. We visited 14 gardens in 12 days. We were hosted in such a pleasant manner, that often we felt we were a guest at the tea workers home (sometimes we actually were!). It was a very humbling experience…to meet so many different people involved in the effort to bring you your tea. The number of hands that are involved is impressive. 
Sometimes the size of the estates can be a bit overwhelming…1000’s of acre in Assam, 500 or so in Darjeeling. So, when we traveled to Hile, Nepal, it was pleasant to visit gardens that were on the smaller scale utilizing dynamic organic practices.
The first we visited was Jun Chiyabari Tea Estate. The smallest of the 3 in the area…and the most innovative in its practices. To list a few quickly: equal pay for all employees (women are often paid less in this industry), women in supervisor positions in the factory, innovative tea making techniques incorporating influences from abroad, and growing teas in a natural environment (versus rows and rows of clear cut areas), also this was the cleanest factory seen outside of Japan.
The results are tasted in the teas. That’s why we chose to purchase two of them one the spot. Both of these teas were made during our stay there…but that’s not exactly why we purchased them. We did because they are incredible teas! These are the first non-black teas we’ve purchased from Nepal, so it’s an honor to have them be from Jun. See for yourself…but the supply is limited, and they won’t get any fresher! An entire day of work yielded only 1kg of each, so please enjoy before they sell out.
