the indian express | APRIL 13, 2016 | By: Prathima Shantaveeresh
HOW TO MAKE 35 MILLION CUPS OF TEA WELL
How long the tea takes to reach you, the estate it comes from, the time of the year, and even the kettle in which you infuse the leaves matter. This startup helps you from start...
How long the tea takes to reach you, the estate it comes from, the time of the year, and even the kettle in which you infuse the leaves matter. This startup helps you from start to finish.
Here’s a helpful tip from Dugar: “To get the real taste of tea, it’s best to infuse loose tea leaves in warm water.”
Dugar’s passion to explore the tea industry in India drove him to start Teabox.com. The Business Management graduate from the Singapore Management University, aims at supplying freshest teas from places in India like Darjeeling, Assam, and Nilgiri, and from Nepal to the entire world.
He says that usually tea takes six months to reach consumers from the gardens. “Tea travels through six to seven stages which includes people who buy the tea from gardens, the ones who pack it, distributors and retailers. But, we make it available to consumers in about a week’s time,” he says.
“That is because we source teas directly from the growers and estates in India and Nepal and ship it to the customer directly,” he says. This is also his way to make people taste the freshest tea produced in the country. .
Started in 2012, the company has so far shipped over 35 million cups worth of tea to customers in 93 countries around the world and the number increases every day. Kushal observes that there has been transformation in the way people consume tea in last one year. Not everyone likes plain tea. To make it suitable to everyone’s palate, Kushal has also devised 250 tea blends with the help of three experts in Siliguri, where the production unit is located. The blends include flavours like aam panna, strawberry, orange and mint. However, for newbies, he recommends any Autumn Flush teas. “They are more palatable,” he says. Apart from these they supply 150 single-estate teas. To understand which flavours you would like, take a quiz on the website. Based on your answers, which would be a reflection of your taste in food and aromas, Teabox will help you pick one. Teas cost `6,000-7,000 per kg. They also have monthly subscription plans for ones who would like to buy tea from them regularly. One can buy it with the right type of kettle to infuse the tea in the best way, from their website. Other accessories used to store tea and serve them are also available. .
