Read our interview with World Tea Expo Global Tea Championship entrant Nepal Tea Collective!
Welcome to the second edition of our series of interviews with World Tea Expo Global Tea Championship contenders!
As a reminder, the World Tea Expo’s 2025 Global Tea Championship (GTC) is open for submissions now through November 30! Get full details on the categories and how to submit here.
Chatting with GTC Contender Gorkha Tea Estate
World Tea News caught up with Urusha Chapagain, marketing executive of Gorkha Tea Estate Pvt Ltd, to discuss the tea estate's dedication to its workers and why it's submitting to the Global Tea Championship.
Tell our readers a bit about your company and the types of tea you supply/sell.
Gorkha Tea Estate (GTE) is a multi-cooperative tea estate located in the hills of Eastern Nepal, Sundarpani, Fikkal Ilam. It is currently producing about 80 tons of high-quality tea leaves. Major exports are Germany, Finland, Japan, and the USA. Gorkha Tea Estate is located 1700m above sea level and 40-hectares of land belongs to the tea estate and the rest of the 198-hectare land to the farmers.
GTE, adjoining to Darjeeling, India, is organically certified by IMO (Switzerland) EU, JAS(Japan), FDA, ISO 22000: 2018, and Quality Austria. GTE is paying the highest prices to its farmers for their green leaves.
Gorkha Tea Estate is encouraging farmers to produce high-quality green leaves by giving them the best price for their products and by also developing HOME STAY at farmers' houses under “Tea and Tourism.”
GTE has managed to provide cash contributions of 1.5 million every year to all three cooperatives. Beyond that additional cash support, they have also been provided through market support. GTE is supporting 354 organic small holder farmers and always works to develop the livelihood of the farmers. GTE provides Internal Control System (ICS) training to it’s farmers through IMO and the Inspection for going organic is held every year.
Gorkha Tea Estate believes in togetherness including farmers, factory, and market.
Here are some of their corporate social responsibility focuses:
- Supporting three cooperatives: Eco Kolbung Co-operative, Sunderpani Co-operative, and Boudhham Cooperative, and providing field staff to each cooperative.
- Benefiting 354 household small growers and distributed cows, constructed cowsheds, and provided Biogas Facilities to it’s cooperative farmers.
- Training on Farm Management for pruning, compost manure, manuring and mulching.
- Distributed drums, spray machines free of cost to each household.
- Farmers’ getting high prices for green leaves - 100% more than market value.
- Providing training and technical support to the farmers free of cost.
- Distributing market bonuses to the related cooperatives directly from the buyer.
- Providing factory staff and garden pluckers with Social Security Fund.
- Providing school scholarships for the staff’s children up to Grade 10.
Types of Tea We Produce:
Golden Tea, Black Tea (Light & Bright), Green Tea, White Tea, Oriental Beauty, Red Tea, Oolong Tea
Why did you decide to enter the World Tea Expo Global Tea Championship?
World Tea Expo Championship offers an opportunity to showcase our Nepal-produced tea, which is hand plucked by women in our tea garden who nurture their tea bushes like their children. It help us to evaluate our tea in front of tea experts and receive their feedback, allowing us to measure our products against some of the best teas in the world and establish our brand in the international market.
What would it mean to you to win an award in the World Tea Expo Global Tea Championship?
World Tea Expo Global Tea Championship is a prestigious award, which helps to signify the best in the tea industry and where tea is made with outstanding quality. It validates the hard work by the tea farmers of maintaining the quality by plucking standards. It also helps to be best among the world and open new market opportunities where people will recognize Nepal Tea, potentiality by building consumer trust. It will help and motivate small holder growers to showcase tea and can help in brand awareness and sales, which helps in positioning in the competitive global tea market.
Plan to Attend or Participate in World Tea Expo, March 24-26, 2025
To learn about other key developments, trends, issues, hot topics and products within the global tea community, plan to attend World Tea Expo, March 24-26, 2025 in Las Vegas, co-located with Bar & Restaurant Expo. Visit WorldTeaExpo.com.
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Ellainy Karaboitis-Christopoulos, Business Development Manager, Questex
Phone: +1-212-895-8493; Email: [email protected]
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