thumb|CTC and Orthodox tea

Nepali tea is a beverage made from the leaves of tea plants (Camellia sinensis) grown in Nepal. They are distinctive in appearance, aroma and taste, but are similar in many ways to Darjeeling tea, which is produced over the border in India. Its relatively smaller production quantities mean that teas from Nepal are less well known than those from Darjeeling.

Nepal's teas fall into two types of tea: Orthodox tea and Crush, tear, curl tea.

Orthodox tea

thumb|250px|right|Orthodox tea

Orthodox tea is – as Darjeeling Tea – made from the Chinese Variety of the tea plant (C. sinensis var. sinensis). The tea is hand- or machine-rolled. Most speciality teas like green tea, oolong tea, white tea and hand rolled tea fall under the category of orthodox tea. In Nepal, orthodox tea is produced and processed in the mountainous regions of Nepal at an altitude ranging from 3,000 to 7,000 feet above the sea level. There are six major districts, primarily in the eastern regions of Nepal that are known for producing quality orthodox tea, which are Ilam, Panchthar, Dhankuta, Terhathum, Sindhulpalchok and Kaski.

Orthodox tea in Nepal is characterized by four flushes:

  • First flush, begins in the fourth week of March and continues until the end of April. The leaves are tender and the liquor is light yellowish green in color, having a delicate taste with subtle aroma and flavor. The first flush is more expensive, because of its light and delicate flavor, but also due to the fact that it is produced in low quantity and the demand outstrips the supply.
  • Second flush, starts during the second week of May and lasts until the last week of July. In the second flush the leaves gain more strength and exhibits the main characteristics of tea in contrast to the first flush tea. Some experts state that the best tea is made during the second flush.
  • Monsoon flush, also referred as "Rainy tea" begins immediately after the second flush, that is around the last week of July and continues until the end of September. The monsoon tea, due to the continuous rain, exhibits a very intense and dark fusion as the tea develops its full color and strength, resulting in a full bodied tea. It is often recommended.
  • Autumn flush, usually begins in October and lasts until the end of November. The autumn tea gives a combination of musky flavors, tangy aromas and an amber liquor.

CTC tea

thumb|250px|right|CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) tea

Crush, tear, curl (CTC) tea is a method of processing Assam variety (Camellia sinensis var. assamica), which grows in the lower-altitude, hot and humid plains of Nepal, primarily in Jhapa district. It accounts for almost 95% of the domestic consumption, owing to its lower cost of production compared with orthodox tea.

The Nepal CTC tea is also characterized by four pronounced flushes, the First, Second, Monsoon and Autumn flushes, but unlike the orthodox tea, the CTC tea is more or less uniform throughout, often exhibiting a strong color and subtle aroma after infusion. However, the flushes do not begin and end in accordance with that of the orthodox tea, mainly because of differences in local conditions.

History

During the Rana Dynasty

During the 1800s and the early 1900s, Nepal was under the reign of a highly centralized autocracy, the Rana Dynasty, which acted as a monarchy; their policies resulted in the isolation of Nepal from the external world. Nepal's borders and governance were constantly under turmoil, both internally and externally. Unlike India, the policies helped Nepal retain its national independence from the British colonial rule, but isolated it from modernization and economic development. Thus the nascent Nepali tea industry was adversely affected compared with the nearby Darjeeling tea industry, which thrived under the British colonial rule.

It is believed that the first tea bushes in Nepal were grown from seeds which were given as a gift by the Chinese Emperor to the then Prime Minister of Nepal, Jung Bahadur Rana. Nevertheless, Nepal's tea industry owes its roots to the colonization of India, by the world's first multinational company, the “East India Company”, under the British Empire. Later into the 1900s the Nepalese tea producers acted as suppliers to Darjeeling factories when tea bushes became old and yields decreased.

thumb|right|250px|Logo that was developed for CTC tea, green tea, and orthodox tea in accordance with the provision of National Tea Policy 2000

From 1987 to 1993, some of today's notable institutions were incorporated to further aid the Nepal Tea Development Corporation in the development of a century old stagnant tea industry, like – National Tea and Coffee Development Board (NTCDB), Nepal Tea Planters' Association (NTPA) and Himalayan Orthodox Tea Producers' Association (HOTPA). In 1997, Nepal's tea industry saw a major transformation towards privatization, with the privatization of the plantations and factories under the Nepal Tea Development Corporation (NTDC).

Since the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, an array of international non-governmental organizations (like – Winrock, SNV, GTZ etc.) have become involved with the stakeholders of Nepal's tea industry, because the tea industry in Nepal also played a significant role in the eradication of poverty, especially in the rural areas where the tea plantations were concentrated. By the 21st century the stagnant tea industry had transformed into a fully commercialized industry, yet it had not yet developed a strong brand in the global market, lacking efficiently integrated production and marketing systems.

Hence, in 2000 as per the provisions of the National Tea and Coffee Development Board Act of 1992, the Government of Nepal ratified the National Tea Policy. The National Tea Policy focussed on the following five main broad topics: -

  1. Production and processing
  2. Market and trade promotion
  3. Institutional arrangement
  4. Manpower development
  5. Development and promotion of auxiliary industries

Present

Today, Nepal's tea industry is dominated by private interests with the first private orthodox factory, Bhudkharan tea private limited being established in 1960, whereas in the 1980s the tea industry was a Government monopoly prior to the liberalization of the tea industry. Until 2000, Nepal's tea exports accounted for only about 100 – 150 tons per annum. However, due to the liberalization adopted about a decade ago, Nepal's tea industry witnessed an exponential rise in tea exports, accounting for almost 4,000 – 5,000 tons per annum.

At present, Nepal produces approximately 16.29 million kilograms of tea per annum on an area of 16,718 hectares. It accounts for only 0.4% of the total world tea output. Tea is taken as self-dependent cash crop in agroforestry practice and is found as the most important example of the long term sustainable farming. The main tea producing regions in Nepal are Jhapa, Ilam, Panchthar, Dhankuta, Terhathum with newly involved regions being Kaski, Dolakha, Kavre, Sindhupalchok, Bhojpur, Solukhumbu and Nuwakot, with a goal of increasing the total tea production in Nepal. Nepal's teas are mainly exported to India, Pakistan, Australia, Germany, France, Poland the Netherlands, Japan, Belgium and the United States of America.

Himalayan Orthodox Tea Producers Association (HOTPA), the association of orthodox tea producers of Nepal, realizing the potential of the Nepalese orthodox tea in the global market, has been adopting various measures to improve the quality and marketing of orthodox tea. In 2003, Himalayan Tea Producers Co-operative Limited (HIMCOOP), the marketing wing of the Himalayan Orthodox Tea Producers Association (HOTPA), was set up to assist in the marketing of Nepali tea. Similarly, in 2006, the Himalayan Orthodox Tea Producers Association (HOTPA) implemented the Code of Conduct. The main objective of the Code of Conduct was to increase the standards of Nepalese orthodox tea to an international level. The main principles of the Code of Conduct are:-

  1. Respect towards nature
  2. Respect towards human
  3. Respect towards production system
  4. Respect towards quality

Farmers are now supported by the National Tea and Coffee Development Board created by the Nepalese Ministry of Agriculture. A national tea policy was introduced by the NTCDB in 2000 which aimed to create more access to credit and land for farmers producing tea. In Nepal, the Eastern mountainous regions host most of the orthodox (as opposed to crush, tear and curl) tea crops at altitudes approximating 3000–7000 feet above sea level.

Pesticide use

There is no Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) for pesticide in place. However, in the last decade numerous poisonous chemicals such as monocrotophos, quinalphos, ethion, and phorate have been prohibited (as of May 2005). Other interventions proposed include the introduction of motorized pruning devices to reduce labour and increase productivity with respect to time.

Economic effects

The transition from subsistence farming to cash crop farming of orthodox tea provides a benefit to hillside farmers in terms of financial support and involvement in the domestic market.

Unique Selling Propositions of Ilam Tea

Ilam teas are noted for their unique flavor profile, which includes a slightly nutty and floral taste with a hint of sweetness that enhances their appeal compared to the more traditional Darjeeling flavors. This unique profile is a result of the younger tea gardens in Ilam, which benefit from fresher soil and less depleted nutrients compared to the older gardens of Darjeeling.