From mint julip sweet tea to matcha frappe to oolong orange whisky punch on ice, tea has been and is increasingly forming the base ingredient for many a thirst-quencher. Once the sole purview of the mixologist at a bar, Luxmi Tea Company Private Ltd. (also known as Luxmi Tea Estates) based in Kolkata, India, has done the hard work for the consumer, developing tea-based concentrates to be mixed with soda, wine, or even something harder. The mixes can even be enjoyed on ice. The new product line, which releases in the company’s signature Makaibari outlets in India later this month, is called Zero Proof. Mirroring Luxmi Estates’ aspirations for the renowned Makaibari Tea label, Luxmi hopes to provide Zero Proof all over the world – but will start with its outlets in India.
Zero Proof is comprised of tea from Luxmi’s most esteemed tea estate, Makaibari, located in Darjeeling district at foothills of the Himalayas, combined with various natural herbs and healthy enhancers such as ginger, turmeric, and Tulsi leaf. So far, three varieties have been designed: “Spice Harmony,” which contains Makaibari oolong tea, ginger, and turmeric; “Citrine Oasis” made from Makaibari green tea and orange extracts; and “Oolong Symphony” consisting of Makaibari oolong tea, lemon, ginger, and mint. Other than their unique designer formulations, what distinguishes the new product line from other drinks or mixers is the fact that the ingredients are both fresh and 100% organic. No chemicals are used in the cultivation of the Zero Proof constituents.
Spice Harmony seems to stand as the healthiest of the concentrates, containing cancer-fighting curcumin compounds embedded in the pieces of whole turmeric used in the extraction process. It also boasts a healthy dose of the amino acid, L-theanine, known not only calm the nerves but also to increase mental acuity.
Citrine Oasis is likely to be the most familiar blend to the average consumer, containing the citrus extracts that are present in many beverages.
It is Oolong Symphony, though, that is really the hardcore tea-drinker’s beverage, with the bold taste of Makaibari oolong tea coming through to dominate the flavor profile but polished with the other ingredients. Totally unsweetened, it is like drinking a cold brew of oolong tea with a hint of lemon, ginger, and mint to add some character to it. Mixing with soda water adds effervescence to the experience – something to which the multitudes who consume sparkling beverages can relate– but without the harmful chemicals and unhealthy sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup, generally contained in such drinks.
The essential ingredient in these beverages, however, is the base, which is high-altitude Himalayan tea sourced by Makaibari Tea Estate.
“For generations, tea has been much more than just a beverage in India—it’s a tradition, a daily habit, a source of comfort, and a cherished ritual. Today, as more people seek healthier alternatives, the demand for refined, non-alcoholic beverages is on the rise,” says Rudra Chatterjee, Managing Director, Luxmi Tea. “Makaibari Zero Proof perfectly aligns with this shift, offering an alcohol-free tea that embodies both depth and sophistication.”
Chatterjee makes a cogent observation in recognizing that Zero proof is like tasting some of the most outstanding organic products that India has to offer – all in the same glass: “Crafted from the finest leaves of Makaibari, spanning from the pristine Himalayas of Darjeeling to Assam's rich tea estates and Kerala’s spice-filled fields, it [Zero Proof] encapsulates the diverse essence of India in every sip. It stands as the ideal indulgence for those who seek wellness, tradition, and complexity without compromise, made with pure, concentrated herbs and no added sugar, preservatives, or tea dust, Makaibari Zero Proof embodies the time-honoured art of tea brewing. As Indians reevaluate their beverage choices, Makaibari Zero Proof is poised to lead the way, offering a healthier yet equally indulgent experience,” says Chatterjee.
Zero Proof Emerges from the Development of More Conventional Iced Tea
The story of the new product line begins with the end of the successful launch another one: the culmination of a collaboration between Luxmi Tea Estates and Coca-Cola to produce a ready-to-drink organic iced tea product in India called “Honest Tea”, which was launched in the summer of 2024 in a glitzy marketing campaign with Bollywood icon Twinkle Khanna sipping the beverage on billboards.
Some may already know the name of Honest Tea as the brand name was founded by the Honest Tea Company in Bethesda, Maryland, USA in 1998 by Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff. Honest tea was the first wholly organic iced tea beverage in any market, globally, to contain a lower level of sweetness than competitors. When running for president in 2008, Barack Obama famously mentioned at a public event that it was essential to his daily routine: “Just like I write on a yellow legal pad with a particular Uni-ball fine-point pen, I also need Honest Teas, which give me a little bit of a buzz but don’t get me too amped up [sic.],” Obama remarked.
This unpaid endorsement for the future president was a boon in some markets but a bane in others and may have contributed to the brand’s demise, being seen as a drink for the liberal elite in a country that was to elect Donald Trump after Obama.
The founders, who were apolitical in their approach ended up selling their stakes in the company to The Coca-Cola Company, which had already invested heavily in it, making Honest Tea Company a wholly owned subsidiary of the soft drink giant. Coca Cola scaled up their operations and distribution tenfold before discontinuing the product line in 2022, citing supply chain and demand issues and stating that the decision was made to "prioritize production and distribution" of other beverages. The company would go on to launch two other iced tea beverages, Gold Peak Tea and Peace Tea.
That said, it is fitting perhaps that in the land of rebirth, the brand should undergo a reincarnation in India as announced at the Bengal Global Business summit held in Kolkata in 2023 where Coca-Cola and Luxmi Tea signed an MoU to make the ready-to-drink iced tea beverage, once again. It was reported at the time that Luxmi would only be providing the tea leaves from its Makaibari estate and Coca Cola would develop the beverage. However, the expertise to develop iced tea did not lie in the soft drink company’s Indian operations. Consequently, Luxmi ended up establishing a food lab, which is now their Innovation Centre, to develop the beverage, which Coca-Cola then mass-produced, bottled, and distributed.
From Tea Company to Beverage Manufacturer
The experience for Luxmi was transformational as executives in the company came to realize that they too had the resources and the knowhow to create tea-based cold beverages from healthy ingredients. They realized that such beverages could serve an increasingly health-conscious public, seeking alternatives to sugary and artificially made soft drinks to quench their thirst in the punishing heat of Indian summers.
Recognizing that beyond premium organic tea leaves, which were available at their Makaibari Tea Estate in Darjeeling, India being flush with herbs and spices, also organically grown, it would not be difficult to find the natural complements to Makaibari’s tea leaves. Procuring these ingredients enabled Luxmi to concoct new tea-based beverages or (in this case) beverage starters.
The task was given to Sushuvan Sinha, Luxmi’s Head of Innovations and Products, who had been responsible for reincarnating Honest Tea in India.
A food technologist by training, Luxmi recognized that Sinha possessed the requisite professional expertise to develop a range of beverages, giving him the task of starting with Honest Tea. It took him six months to build the operational capacity, which was completed in 2023 and the product was launched in 2024. Today, his lab is state of the art, and Luxmi has given him the freedom to experiment with whole herbs and spices as well as tea to design the different concentrates.
That Zero Proof does not contain powdered extracts of any ingredient or the cheap and low-quality dust tea that fills tea bags, gives Sinha a real sense of accomplishment. Using whole leaf tea along with whole herbs and spices, enables him not only to create a more authentically flavored beverage concentrate but also one which contains a markedly enhanced nutrient content – in other words, a healthier beverage.
“By using four to five millimeter cut spices instead of extracted powders, our end product is around 70% more potent in active ingredients and nutrient content compared to beverages flavored from powder extracts,” says Sinha.
The use of such ingredients makes Zero Proof a premium product. It also makes the production process considerably more complex. “It involves high quality whole ingredients, and the brewing process and extraction process is more sophisticated, which leads to a far superior product from a health standpoint and in terms of flavor,” says Sinha. “That is how we are differentiating ourselves from others.”
The Luxmi Packaging and Innovation Centre is a picture of hygiene and efficiency. Uniform-clad workers wear gloves, masks, hairnets, and shoe-wear covers. Hence, from head-to-toe they are equipped to handle each task with precision and meticulous care. One person may be responsible for weighing out tea leaves and putting the in sealed foil packs while another takes the packs and puts them in tins, which he or she seals. The next person on the assembly line, puts the correct labels on the tin while a colleague packs them into boxes for distribution.
The Innovation Centre – Where the "Magic Happens"
The innovation lab, which is pristine, while being a part of the packaging unit, stands quite apart from it in many respects. Only Sinha and his assistant are allowed in this room, which is temperature controlled and contains the tea used for making concentrates as well as the herbal ingredients, which are added. The concentrate is then extracted from these natural elements.
Conducting a demonstration for me of how he experiments with flavors, Sinha starts with a black tea from Makaibari (he could have easily used green tea or oolong for another recipe). First, he makes a doubly strong brew from Makaibari second flush black tea leaves. This is to account for the fact that the consumer will dilute the concentrate by 50% before consumption with soda or some other drink. Normally, he would prepare a litre (or approx. 34 oz.) at a time but for demonstration purposes, he brews a sample of half that volume.
Bringing the water to a temperature of ninety degrees Celsius (194° F), he then adds the tea (I can’t reveal how much) – but only once the water has settled. The brewing takes five minutes after which the tea is strained from the brewing vessel into a beaker. Sinha now has his base of black tea concentrate.
He lets the concentrate settle until the temperature drops within five degrees of seventy degrees Celsius (158° F). Next, he checks the pH level using a handheld pH meter, first showing me a measurement of the water he has used in the brewing process. It comes to just under seven, which is neutral.
In this instance, he is experimenting with lemon, Tulsi (which is the Indian variety of Basil) and mint – all of which is added in small quantities. The pH is measured at around 4.8 to 4.9. Sinha expects this as the natural herbs and lemon are slightly acidic. However, to inhibit microbial growth, he has to bring the pH down further, so he adds some Citric Acid, which most people would know is Vitamin C. This brings the pH down to 3.5, which is necessary to prevent bacteria from growing.
The resulting beverage is a lemon mint tea concentrate with a hint of sweetness from the Tulsi herb. We consume it straight to determine the flavor intensity; we then dilute it 50% with sparkling water as a customer would, to taste what a consumer would.
Like a painter on his canvas, Sinha illustrates how Zero Proof concoctions are created from mere ideas about taste to actual prototype products. “While this is food science in terms of creating a concentrate that is safe and has a reasonable shelf life, in a way, it is also an art as I am guided by my palate,” Sinha says. He is open about the process because of the craftmanship involved. No other person would likely be able to replicate precisely what his palate tells him is the best tasting concentrate. The rest is knowledge that all food scientists share.
The final stage of preparation is pasteurization. I ask Sinha if heating the mixture would affect the nutrient content. He tells me that as the initial extraction in the brewing of tea is done at a higher temperature than pasteurization, the nutrient content is not diminished.
Scaling Up and Automation
Sinha’s laboratory demonstration is a small-scale preparation – like something that could even be prepared at home. I ask him how it is scaled up for automated production on a larger scale.
He describes a process in which, once the proportions of ingredients are determined as ideal for the recipe, the brewing and mixing takes place in a large tank. The tank is then attached to a filling nozzle that is used to fill each bottle, on an automated assembly line. The bottles are then sealed automatically and pasteurized following which the correct labels are fitted. Packed in bubble wrap and other cushioning media and shipped to the outlet in a refrigerated truck, Zero Proof arrives fresh in glass bottles that are carefully transported.
Maintenance of a low temperature is essential to preserve the shelf-life of the product. It’s the main reason why, initially, Luxmi will be selling the beverage concentrates first at the Makaibari Bungalow in Darjeeling and then at Makaibari outlets, only. They are not at a stage yet where the company wants to give up control of the supply chain, which would be needed to stock the product in grocery stores.
That said, Luxmi does see a future in selling the concentrate at high-end stores, which maintain proper supply chain standards for premium products.
Before the bottles are released from the packaging facility, they undergo a quality control process.
“There is EBI inspection in [an] automated system that is called Electronic Bottle Inspection,” says Sinha, adding: “So that means in an automated supply chain system, there will be a camera present on the bottom side. So, when the bottle passes through that [supply] chain, the camera will inspect from bottom to top of the bottle for any foreign particle.”
Sinha says that should a bottle fail the. EBI test, it will automatically be segregated from the rest of the bottles going out.
The complexity and conscientious nature of the development process leaves much to admire.
The Outlook for Tea-Based Beverages
Sinha will not rest after Zero Proof launches at the Makaibari stores. He is already planning on developing four or five new flavors to potentially add to the selection. He thinks these flavors may also be combined with alcoholic beverages as he plans to make them a bit stronger in their flavor profiles.
As a tea writer, I have seen many factories and packaging operations; this is the first time I’ve observed the transformation of a tea company into a diversified beverage company. As tea becomes the flavor-base that a new generation of beverage consumers prefer, the development of tea-based beverages will only grow.
In Australia, for instance, a company called East Forge is already producing a beverage that looks like beer but tastes like tea. Indeed, on their signage, they have to remind the consumer that the bottles contain tea and not beer. As one might imagine, it’s a hit with young people, who are looking for a new and distinctive beverage experience.
Studies like the National Institutes of Health study on The Impacts of Young Consumers’ Health Values on Functional Beverages Purchase Intentions, have found that increasingly young consumers, being more cognizant of the health value of foods on average than their elders, are looking to beverage functionality. Here Luxmi has followed the trend by adding a little extra L-Theanine (already present in tea) to their formulation of the Spice Harmony blend, which one might recall is the turmeric containing Zero Proof concentrate that this writer believes is likely to hold the most profound health benefits. Sinha expects consumers not only to feel the relaxation effects of the amino acid but also the much-studied increase in mental acuity that comes with it. I imagine students downing Spice Harmony before an exam!
With the firm backbone of science and the supple body of flavor art going into tea-based beverages like Zero Proof, a wide range of tea-based options open up, especially for those who wish to avoid the two substances about which the medical establishment is increasingly issuing warnings: sugar and alcohol. Indeed, the production of tea-based beverages like Zero Proof will only serve to multiply the variety of ways in which the Camelia sinensis plant can be brewed to quench the thirst of the multitude of consumers who have already made it second only to water as the most consumed beverage in the world.
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