Nepal Tea Collective 2024: Nepal’s Finest Organic Teas

DeliveryRank has the opportunity to chat with Nishchal (Nish) Banskota, founder of Nepal Tea Collective, a third-generation tea producer from Phidim, Nepal. Driven by a mission to create an identity for Nepali teas and empower local farmers, Nish established the company in 2016. Combining his expertise in the tea industry with innovative marketing strategies, including a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign, he has elevated Nepal Tea Collective into a globally recognized brand. Nish is passionate about sustainability, community impact, and sharing Nepal’s rich tea heritage with the world.

Nishchal, how does Nepal Tea Collective’s direct relationships with tea farmers ensure fair compensation and contribute to improving their quality of life?

At Nepal Tea Collective, we place farmers and producers at the heart of everything we do. Many of our farmers have been growing teas for generations, and they carry forward the traditions and knowledge that give Nepali teas their distinct identity. I am a second-generation tea producer myself and I have witnessed the potential of tea production in raising farmers out of poverty. With this in mind, our relationship with our farmers is built on transparency, trust, and shared visions. 

We are implementing various measures to give back to our producers, one of them being our revenue distribution program. We reinvest 1% of our total revenue into our communities, and we guarantee that farmers receive fair compensation by cutting out the middlemen. This has strengthened our partnerships while boosting the incomes of all the farmers who are the reason behind our exceptional teas. We have uplifted their wages by 48.1% since the inception of this program.

In addition, we work with our sister organization, the Nepal Tea Foundation, to provide scholarships to children in our tea communities. Most of these children are first-generation students and by supporting their education, we uplift entire communities. In 2023, our scholarship program continued to fully cover the tuition of 27 students. This will create lasting impacts that will directly improve the quality of their lives.

We also support our tea farmers by enabling them to adopt sustainable practices and equipping them with tools to enhance their yield and income. We have recently partnered with USAID Nepal to boost climate-smart export quality tea production, ultimately helping our farmers achieve new heights. 

We establish relationships that make our farmers feel valued and supported. They aren’t just suppliers; they are the backbone of our company and society in general. We aim to continue transforming the lives of Nepali tea farmers, all the while delivering exceptional teas to the world.

Can you share how your innovative "Tea as a Service" (TaaS) model helps bridge the gap between consumers and the intricate process of tea cultivation?

Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water, yet most of us don’t know where it comes from or how it is made. Our "Tea as a Service" (TaaS) model is all about erasing that disconnect between tea lovers and the world of tea cultivation.

The topography of Nepal’s tea farms provides a unique opportunity for us to provide tea tours. We help our visitors immerse themselves in Nepal’s teamaking traditions while living in our tea farm homestays. They get to experience firsthand the generational artistry that goes into crafting Nepali loose-leaf teas. 

Under our guidance, visitors can pluck their own leaves and carry out all the steps that go into the tea-making process. More importantly, they get to interact with the farmers and their families. This allows them to create meaningful connections by stepping into the lives of the community that make it all possible. It is also an opportunity for us to share the unique story and value of Nepali tea with people around the world. Through this model, we can give our visitors transparency and understanding of what goes into every cup of tea. 

Apart from the amazing teas, Nepal’s tea farms offer gorgeous views of the Himalayan landscape. With this vision in mind, we have constructed state-of-the-art glass domes in the seat of the tea mountains. This way, visitors can get a one-of-a-kind experience while generating extra income for the tea farming communities.

We are actively taking these steps to bridge the gap between consumers and tea farming communities in Nepal while creating sustainable tourism in the region and empowering the people who live there.

How does the Collective’s commitment to sustainability, including plant-based compostable tea bags and tree-planting initiatives, address the environmental challenges facing the tea industry in Nepal?

Climate change is a threat to tea farms everywhere. It has serious implications for not only the production of tea but also for the millions of livelihoods that rely on it. Our tea communities lie along the Eastern Himalayan range of Nepal - they are most threatened and vulnerable to the escalating climate crisis.

We have always prioritized sustainable practices. We have been working towards reducing our carbon footprint by planting a tea sapling for every package customers buy from us. We have also introduced 100% non-GMO, plant-based, and industrially compostable tea bags. 

Regular tea bags are usually made of bleached paper, nylon, or plastic, and many tea lovers aren’t aware of the threats they pose to their health and the environment. We want to reduce waste and preserve local ecosystems by switching to non-toxic bio-degradable tea bags. 

In addition to this, our partnership with USAID Nepal helps us promote sustainable and climate-smart farming practices. We are helping our farmers adapt to the changing climate by providing renewable energy solutions and digitized farmer tools.

Nepal Tea Collective recently transitioned to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). How has this shift impacted your transparency and social impact goals, including tip the farmer feature?

Due to a lack of market access and proper resources, Nepali tea farmers have been trapped in a vicious cycle of exploitation and poverty. I started Nepal Tea Collective with the vision of disrupting the supply chains that have barred Nepal’s tea communities from establishing their own identity in the global market. 

In 2022, we decided to take a transformative step by converting our company into a Public Benefit Corporation. This step formalizes our commitment to balancing profit with accountability. Our responsibility as a PBC is to create value while upholding the best interests of all stakeholders, not just shareholders. This means that every single tea farmer, including the ones supplying even a kilo of tea leaf to us, gains benefits. 

1% of our topline revenue goes directly to the farmers. While this may seem like a small amount, we are establishing an expanding cycle of impact—as the company grows, so does the value we’re able to give back. 

In addition to this, by scanning the QR code on each of our product packaging, customers can use our “Tip the Farmer” feature, which allows them to directly support the farmers who grow their tea. Transparency is key to us, and through this initiative, we manually track every step of the tea journey.

Customers who buy our products can view where their tea comes from and when it was planted, processed, and packed. Most importantly, they get to see the faces of the tea workers behind their cups of tea. It is a small but meaningful way for our customers to connect directly with our farmers. 

Following these initiatives, we envision bringing one million tea farmers out of poverty during our lifetimes. We are building our brand based on transparency and traceability while fostering deeper connections between tea farmers and tea lovers.

Could you elaborate on the role of partnerships, such as the $1 million USAID grant, in promoting climate-smart production and enhancing Nepal’s tea exports on a global scale?

Through the Feed the Future USAID Nepali Tea Partnership, we are strengthening our efforts to help Nepali tea gain international recognition. Simultaneously, we are enabling local farmers to adopt climate-smart practices to achieve long-term sustainability. We are tackling key supply and demand challenges that have kept Nepali tea hidden from the global markets for decades. 

On the supply side, we are working directly with farmers to help them produce export-quality tea by improving and standardizing their yields. This is where our sub-partners Gham Power and Almost Heaven Farms play a vital role. Both have been key actors in Nepal in offering green solutions that align perfectly with our mission. Ghampower is helping us assess energy consumption and carbon emissions while introducing solar solutions at our tea farms and factories. Beyond that, they are setting up systems for soil testing, weather pattern analyses, and geo-tagging and tracking. They are also training farmers and producers to adopt a digitized system for efficient tracking and record keeping. Our other partner, Almost Heaven Farms plays a crucial role in analyzing soil health and water use to develop waste reduction strategies and effective recycling practices. 

On the demand side, we are connecting producers and farmers to new opportunities. We are helping them access international markets by exploring and creating new channels. We are actively building awareness about the unique taste and rich heritage of Nepali teas by participating in international tea festivals and competitions. 

Our teas have won prestigious awards like the Leafies in the UK and AVPA - (Agence pour la Valorisation des Produits Agricoles) in France and made record sales this year, which only highlights the global appeal of Nepali teas. We are developing a strong brand that leaves a mark in the international arena. 

Our partnership with USAID Nepal has only just started, but it has been instrumental in advancing our mission of elevating Nepali tea on a global scale while helping local farmers and producers achieve new heights. This shift is helping us create a climate-smart and sustainable future for our farmers and teas. 

If you would like to find out more about Nepal Tea Collective, please visit https://nepalteacollective.com/