We visited Ilam for the first time in 2024 summer, and we fell in love with it, despite the monsoon which was unforviging and relentless every day. But in those brief moments amidst the incessant rain, we believed to be in heaven, above the clouds, in a stunning biodiverse environment, surrounded by Kirati people making tea and milk, butter, agriculture in their traditional ways, unvaried since the beginning of times. Among these very friendly and amiable people we were introduced by our friend Narendra, a most knowledgeable local tea grower and historian, to Saras Subbha (Subbha in local Limbhu language meaning "chief"). He is a most sympathetic man towards his 50s, owner of a small tea factory which processes the finest tea leaves in the area brought there from local farmers, which are payed well and respected for their efforts. Saras gives work to about 15 local youth, and pays them a good salary in local terms. His factory is equipped with old chinese tea machines, and his craftsmanship has evolved considerably in the last 20 years thanks to Chinese and Japanese guidance. He makes very good, organic certified, sharp, honest, quite straightforward but mellow red tea. It has the complexity of Ilam's lush tropical forests, with traces of mango in its subtlety. We felt privileged to find such a treasure in this part of the world, which clearly deserves much more recognition.
It is best served in limited portions per serving, in a glazed tea pot of some size, for example the ones made in Shino, Seto or Iga, Japan. Otherwise we suggest a handmade copper tea pot made by traditional copper craftsmen in Patan, Kathmandu.
Temperature: 100 °C. Steeping time: 3 seconds up.
Himalaya Golden Tea, from Master Saras Subbha, Ilam, Nepal.
We always feel the responsibility to give back something to our communities of producers, because we receive so much goodness from them. We also want to make their stories, skills, history, livelihoods, thoughts and traditional tea making procedures to be known to the outer world, because otherwise they will not be able to reach it. So we give back almost 30% of our earnings to the empowerment of Saras Subba's tea cooperative. This money goes directly in the hand of the farmers' families.