From Ilam to Your Cup

OUR SOURCING

Single-origin Nepali teas, traced from one factory in eastern Nepal to your cup. No mystery batches. Just leaf, hand-picked at altitude, made by women, shipped fresh.

Nepali tea farmer hand-picking fresh green tea leaves in Ilam, Nepal at high altitude

Most tea you buy is a blend: leaves from many farms, many countries, many harvests, mixed for consistency. Ours isn't. Every Nepali Tea Traders tea comes from a single region (Ilam, in eastern Nepal), made at a single factory (Sandakphu Tea), from a single harvest. The brand has worked with this same team since 2012, and we've carried the partnership forward since 2017. We know the people who grew, picked, and processed your tea by name.

01 The Region

Ilam, Nepal: Where Tea Grows in the Clouds

Ilam is a district in eastern Nepal, sharing a mountain range with India's Darjeeling region: the same eastern Himalayas, the same elevation bands, the same misty climate that made Darjeeling famous. The difference? Ilam's tea industry is smaller, younger, and less industrialized. Most farms here are small holdings, hand-tended. Most factories still process tea by hand rather than at industrial scale.

Our teas are grown between 4,000 and 7,500 feet. At that altitude, leaves grow slowly, and slow growth means concentrated flavor. The mist that hangs in these valleys most mornings keeps the leaves cool and the flavor delicate. It's why a black tea from Ilam tastes nothing like a black tea from a lowland plantation in Assam or Sri Lanka.

→ Read more: Why Ilam Is Nepal's Premier Tea Region

02 The Factory

Sandakphu Tea: One Factory. Every Cup.

Hand-sorting and grading loose leaf Nepali tea at Sandakphu Tea factory in Ilam, Nepal
Hand-grading and sorting at Sandakphu Tea, Jasbire village, Ilam.

Every tea we sell is made at one factory: Sandakphu Tea, in the village of Jasbire, Ilam.

Most tea brands buy from many factories and blend across them for consistency. We don't. By working with one factory, we know exactly who handled your leaf at every step, from withering to firing to grading. We know which fields the leaf came from. We know when it was picked. The lot number on your bag traces back to that batch and season, because we have it written down.

03 The People

Made by Women in Nepal

Sandakphu was founded by Twistina Subba, who built it on one principle: women would lead at every level. Today, the factory's Master Tea Maker is Bimala Mukhia, one of the few female master tea makers in Nepal. All field-based finance is handled by women. Many of the farmers in our supply chain are women heads of household, paid directly and fairly for what they grow.

When you brew our tea, this is who made it.

→ Read more: Meet the Women Behind Your Nepali Tea

04 What It Means

Single-Origin, Not Single-Origin-Ish

Brewed cup of Rara Willow organic white tea from Nepal with teapot and loose leaf
Rara Willow Organic White Tea: single garden, single harvest, packaged with its lot number.

"Single-origin" is a phrase that gets used loosely in tea. Some brands call a tea single-origin if it comes from one country, even when the leaves are blended from dozens of farms and multiple harvests.

That's not what we mean.

Single-origin, to us, means three things:

  • One region: every tea, every cup, traceable to Ilam, Nepal.
  • One factory: Sandakphu Tea, the same team, every batch.
  • One harvest: your bag carries a lot number that traces back to one batch and one season, because it's one harvest, not a blend across years.

This is why our flavor profiles change subtly season to season. A September harvest tastes different from a May harvest, even from the same garden. That's terroir. We don't blend it away.

OUR STANDARDS

How We Source

USDA Organic Certification

Our certified teas are third-party USDA Organic: no synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no shortcuts. Certification covers both the gardens and the factory, and every certified tea is clearly labeled on its product page.

Direct Trade Since 2012

No middlemen. We buy directly from Sandakphu Tea, which buys directly from local farmers. No brokers, no commodity auctions, no leaf changing hands six times before it reaches us.

Lot Traceability

Every bag is labeled with a lot number and a best by date. The lot number traces back to the batch and the season it was produced. Each harvest comes to us direct from Ilam.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Ilam, Nepal?
Ilam is a district in eastern Nepal located in the Himalayan foothills along the border with India's Darjeeling region. It sits at elevations between 3,000 and 8,000 feet and is Nepal's premier tea-growing region, part of the same eastern Himalayan range that produces Darjeeling tea.
What's the difference between Nepali tea and Darjeeling tea?
Geographically and climatically, the two are nearly identical, both grown in the same eastern Himalayan range at similar elevations, often within miles of each other. The differences are scale and process. Darjeeling has a large, well-established industry. Nepal's tea industry is smaller, younger, and more artisanal, with many factories still processing tea by hand. Nepali teas often offer comparable quality at significantly lower prices than equivalent Darjeelings.
What is single-origin tea?
Single-origin tea is tea sourced from a specific defined origin, ideally one farm, one factory, and one harvest. The opposite is "blended" tea, which combines leaves from many farms, regions, or years for consistency at scale. At Nepali Tea Traders, single-origin means every tea is traceable to Sandakphu Tea factory in Ilam, Nepal, and to a lot number printed on each package that traces back to the batch and the season it was produced.
Are Nepali Tea Traders teas organic?
Many of our single-origin teas are USDA Certified Organic, clearly labeled on each product page. Certification covers both the gardens where the leaf is grown and the factory where it's processed, meaning no synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers from soil to final pack. Smaller artisan lots may be labeled naturally grown while awaiting certification, and our tea blends aren't currently certified organic as a finished product.
Who makes Nepali Tea Traders tea?
Our teas are made at Sandakphu Tea, a small woman-led factory in Jasbire village, Ilam, Nepal. The factory was founded by Chairperson Twistina Subba and is run today by Master Tea Maker Bimala Mukhia, one of the few female master tea makers in Nepal. The supply chain is built predominantly by women, on principle. Read their full story →
How fresh is Nepali Tea Traders tea?
Each harvest comes to us direct from Sandakphu Tea in Ilam, with no middlemen or commodity auctions in between. Every package carries a lot number and a best by date, and the lot number traces back to the batch and the season it was produced.
Premium Nepali black tea brewed in a cup beside Nepali Tea Traders packaging

Taste the Sourcing

Every tea on our shelf traces back to the people, place, and process on this page.

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