Nepali Tea Rises from the Shadows of Darjeeling

Nepali Tea Rises – 3 minute read

Tea is one of the most common beverages in the world, in fact, it is the second most-consumed drink globally. However, a lot goes on in the tea industry that we don’t know about that revolutionizes this industry.

These developments have happened gradually over the years and because of them, some ingredients were replaced by others. A perfect example of this is the Nepali tea which rose from the demise of Darjeeling tea.

How did this evolution happen? Here is the history of the demise of Darjeeling tea and the rise of Nepali tea.

Darjeeling Tea Grows to Prominence

Darjeeling tea started getting its prominence in the mid-1800s when the British started cultivating it and brewing it into tea. The man around Darjeeling Tea’s uprising is a civil surgeon by the name of Dr. Campbell when he planted tea in Beechwood, Darjeeling in 7000 feet above sea level.

His experiment was hugely successful and from there, tea estates in this area started populating the area. As a result, the Darjeeling Company started in 1860-64 with only four tea gardens. In 1874 the number had increased to 113 tea gardens that span over an area of 6 000 hectares.

This exclusive tea had a great taste and the better the taste, the bigger the price tag it had. All the conditions involved in the process of manufacturing tea had an impact on the taste it had. The conditions in Darjeeling were perfect for growing tea because of the soil humidity and the temperature.

The mountainous terrain produces small shoots of Darjeeling tea and that makes the harvesting of Darjeeling Tea harder and more time consuming, but the results are well worth it.

This tea was loved because of its different taste and aroma. However, this tea still failed to be sustainable for a long while and it was then forced to shut down the business. What caused it to stop being grown?

Darjeeling Tea’s Demise

There are various reasons that caused this tea venture to fail and some of them are price drops, soil erosion labor-related issues, and organic farming. Trying to switch to organic methods of growing and cultivating Darjeeling tea has proven to be very expensive.

Above that, it is hard for workers to harvest the tea in extreme conditions on Darjeeling’s mountainous terrain. Also, climate change continued to bring this tea market to its knees. All these adverse conditions are unfavorable in the tea growing and manufacturing industry, especially for this specific kind of tea.

The humidity and temperature of Darjeeling continue to be impacted by climate change and this made growing Darjeeling Tea impractical. The higher temperatures have also caused pests to infest tea gardens and decimating the crops.

The price drops made the Darjeeling tea trade non-profitable, which also caused growers, manufacturers and traders have left this market. Unfortunately, this market had to close, but a similar was gaining popularity in the neighboring country.

Nepali Tea Gains Popularity

Nepali tea has grown to be popular, but it is not your regular tea that you will find in local supermarkets and coffee shops. This tea is following in the footsteps of Darjeeling tea in both taste and quality.

During the period where the Darjeeling tea market faced labor problems, Nepali tea gained its access to the market because of the similarity in taste and quality. This is despite people calling Nepali tea Darjeeling Tea’s poor cousin. You can officially say that this poor cousin got richer and rose above Darjeeling tea.

This tea can be ordered online directly from Nepali tea suppliers and be shipped directly to you. Some suppliers sell the Nepali tea through India and then Indian suppliers sell it as Darjeeling that is how similar they taste.

India is the largest market of Nepali tea and it is behind the uprise of this exotic tea. The market for Darjeeling tea remains unchanged because the market has managed to replace it with its twin, Nepali tea.

Future of Nepali Tea

Nepali tea is continuing to show growth in the tea industry and has a bright future ahead of it. Although Nepali tea is grown in a similar way and in similar terrain that Darjeeling was grown in, it has more of a competitive advantage over Darjeeling tea.

Experts forecast that the market will grow as the government is showing support to local growers by phasing out old rules and regulations and assisting the exportation procedure. The results will be a more consistent supply and development on the quality of Nepali tea.

The government will offer subsidies for growers and show support to young local growers. These government rules and regulations will show growth in this market and promote more free trade to neighboring and foreign countries.

With these changes in the market, Nepali tea will reach more countries and gain more traction amongst tea connoisseurs. If more gardens get certified local growers will have the chance to grow locally and gain access to global markets. The economics are immense and most of them favor this development.

Conclusion

The Nepali tea industry is the rebirth of the Darjeeling tea market. If it maintains its consistency and improves the quality of their product, it will keep its spot in the tea trade. All the years of Darjeeling cultivation in India may as well be for nothing.

However, Nepali tea has offered the same taste and is more affordable and practical to grow. There is a high potential for growth in this industry and more new ideas can be fused to take this industry to greater heights.

The practicality of Nepali tea makes it affordable and a more financially savvy option. The difference between Darjeeling and Nepali tea is hardly noticeable. That’s the reason behind why Nepali managed to enter the market by storm after the demise of Darjeeling. For tea lovers, this is good news because they can now get an alternative to the good old Darjeeling tea.

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