Our Story

Welcome to Darjeeling Tea Leaves!

Living in Darjeeling, one grows up familiar with tea, but not drinking the finest and select Darjeeling teas. The finest Darjeelings are always exported to Europe, Japan and the United States.

My introduction to Darjeeling teas began while working for a Development organisation and I had the opportunity to work with the tea gardens. My work was on water and sanitation projects where I spent a lot of time on the gardens, meeting the workers and also the tea makers and managers. As a visitor to the gardens, you can expect to be served the best teas. It was the beginning of what I think is a lifelong love affair for me.

From 2017,  I started to pursue my dream and  work full time with Darjeeling Tea Leaves and I had already begun to immerse myself in Darjeeling’s world of tea. I was dabbling in so many things, from selecting and buying teas for friends abroad, to learning and inviting experts to collaborate with us to offering an introduction to Darjeeling to friends who wanted to know more…

Darjeeling Tea Leaves grew out of this interest and an increasingly growing desire to promote Darjeeling and invite visitors to experience the town and its legacy as best as they can.

Darjeeling Tea Leaves has three main areas we focus on,

Tea education

We are collaborating extensively with experts and tea lovers outside and within India by creating a platform for exchange of ideas, craftsmanship and knowledge. We are building Darjeeling as a centre for tea education. Regular events are being planned and have already begun to host experts. Another aspect to tea education is to make tea a viable career option for young people in our town, to equip them to keep up with the times, and find ways to work with tea.

Tea tourism

Darjeeling can seem stuck in a timewarp, with its legacy and history. The world of the tea gardens has remained unchanged but there’s more to Darjeeling than colonial nostalgia. Our tea tourism venture is designed to show our visitors the many sides of Darjeeling, whether it’s the Himalayan views, or our local cuisine, our teas of course, and our biodiversity. We can customise tours and itineraries based on interest and time available.

Tea curation

My travels within Darjeeling have brought me in contact with several artisan tea makers and I am fascinated by the attention to detail and craftsmanship they are able to bring to tea making. My selections include several of these niche tea makers and producers, who are not often found on retail channels. Every season, I visit these artisans and sample their creations and listen to their stories. Every tea is handpicked for its unique flavors and its stories.

We supply teas to wholesalers, retailers and dedicated clients in India, Western and Eastern Europe, Middle East, Asia, Russia and North America.