Tea Studio

INDIA

Having produced his range of high-quality specialty teas in the company’s rather unique factory in the Nilgiris for almost a decade, Indi Khanna of Tea’n’Teas decided it was time to put all his practical experience into practice. And so, with an eye to the future, stretching into at least another decade, Khanna has shut down the old unit and replaced it with a dramatically upgraded facility situated in the Nilgiris near 6,400 ft.

The Tea Studio is designed, as Khanna explains, “to handle limited quantities of the highest quality leaf and to convert it into a unique artisanal range of white, green, semi-oxidized, and black teas for the discerning tea aficionado. The source of our green leaf is small, and marginal tribal smallholder farmers are being guided and educated on the quality of leaf required.” Financing is from six investors.

Khanna explains, “The design of the factory is out-of-the-box and eclectic, very modern, nothing like other factories in the Nilgiris or for that matter in any tea-growing area. We want to showcase that tea manufacture can be stylish and modern – not the hackneyed view which is the long-accepted norm in this industry.” The plan is also to encourage tea lovers to visit in order to get the feel of tea making at the most exacting standards, starting off with leaf plucked by their own hands. 

“And we are going be sourcing part of our raw material from a local self-help group, in order to help promote them and give them the opportunity to vastly improve their earning capacity by supplying high quality and therefore high-value leaf to Tea Studio. We are also working towards giving a percentage of our proceeds to a school which teaches children with special needs, right here in the Nilgiris.“While the details have not yet been finalized, we are still in discussion to see how best we could help the kids help themselves instead of by counterproductive cash handouts.” Production in scheduled to begin in April. 

Learn more: twitter.com/teastudio