Tea plant

The green tea terraces of Ilam, next door to India’s Darjeeling, produce Nepalese leaf teas prized around the world.

An evergreen shrub or small tree, pruned in cultivation to a height of about 1 m to make picking easier. The leaves are leathery, elliptical and toothed, and the fragrant white flowers have numerous yellow stamens. For tea, the youngest shoots – the terminal bud with two leaves – are picked by hand. The plant likes acidic soils, abundant rainfall and the moderate temperatures of mountain slopes, and teas grown at high altitudes have a more delicate, floral aroma.

Significance in the country

Nepal’s first tea plantations were established in Ilam in the 19th century, and today orthodox teas from the eastern hills are exported to Europe and India, often compared with neighbouring Darjeeling. Strong, sweet tea with milk and spices – chiya – accompanies Nepalis from morning to night.

Where it grows

The eastern hills: the districts of Ilam and Panchthar, lowland Jhapa (where CTC tea is produced), and Dhankuta and Terhathum.

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